Conte: ‘Tottenham weakened squad, I realise now this is the club’s vision’

Antonio Conte vents his frustration with Tottenham Hotspur for ‘weakening the squad’ in the January transfer window and not bringing in experienced players. ‘I have realised now this is the vision of the club’.

He was asked if there were similarities between this Tottenham side and Conte’s first season at Inter.

“It’s always difficult to make comparisons, but if I had to find something similar, it would be the lack of confidence that is inevitable when you start work at a club that hasn’t won in a long time”, he said.

“I saw some situations from the outside that could be developed, but when you get into it, you realise that something…

“What happened in January was not easy. We lost four players in January. Four important players for Tottenham, and we brought in only two.

“So even just in terms of numbers, rather than reinforce the squad, we on paper weakened it. Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham, because Tottenham are seeking young players they can develop and grow, not players who are ready. That is the issue”.

Conte repeatedly asked Inter, and before that Juventus, to bring in players who were ready to win and had experience of victory.

Can the Italian coach therefore bridge the gap between Spurs and the other Premier League teams without players who are fully-formed?

“That is the issue”, he replied. “This is the vision and the philosophy of the club. It is inevitable that if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more rapidly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the overall team.

“But I repeat, I have realised now that this is the vision of the club”.