antonio conte happy
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has told football.london that it was the club that wanted to sign Djed Spence and he gave the green light to it because he believes he can become an important player. When asked by football.london out on the club’s tour of South Korea what he had asked the club’s chairman Daniel Levy for this summer, Conte, who has the final say on any signings, admitted that bringing in Spence was not originally his idea but that he was more than happy with greenlighting the arrival of the England U21 international.
Antonio Conte said: “Honestly when I spoke [to the chairman] it was very simple because at the start of the conversation the club was very clear with me and said we reached an important achievement and maybe it was very difficult to think since November when I arrived to go into the Champions League but now we want to continue to grow, to grow together with ambition. Also, for the club, it’s not simple to go into the transfer market and sign players free like Perisic and Forster and sign players on loan like Lenglet, and to sign players with money like Richarlison and Bissouma and Spence. Spence is an investment of the club. The club wanted to do it. I said okay, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us. The club decided to buy him.”
Conte cast doubts over his own future at the club last season but in the end his decision to say seemed straightforward after he guided Spurs back into the Champions League. He admitted that in the end it was a simple call to stay in N17.
Antonio Conte said: “[It was] because I said that we have just started the project. I signed a two-year contract for Tottenham, and then when I spoke with the club and we understood that we wanted to build something important. We have to know for sure it’s not simple because in England in this moment there are three teams that in the previous season finished in front of us. Chelsea, but especially Liverpool and Manchester City with 20 and more points higher than us, and United last season was a bad season. We overcame Arsenal in the last three games and you have to know that in England the situation is not simple, but at the same time we are working to improve the squad, because I think last season we worked very hard for the big achievement of the Champions League. Now we want to improve and I think it was very important to sign players like Bentancur and Kulusevski in January because in January four players went on loan and then we signed two players. Now we move at the right time to try to improve the team and the quality aspect, and also the numerical aspect because we have four competitions – the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup – and if we want to be competitive we have to have a good squad but we have to know that we have just started this path. I see that other teams they are signing important players and they’ve spent a lot of money (laughs), but it’s normal in England because the level is very high and the others have the same idea.”
Conte has been impressed by Tottenham’s transfer window so far and believes that all six of his new signings will improve the club as they take on Premier League and Champions League football next season.
Antonio Conte said: “We improved. For sure we improved, that’s normal. When you go into the transfer market you try not to waste money, but if you decide to invest money and I think, up until now, we invested the right money. Many people said to me they were surprised by the timing, but when the vision is clear I feel confident and then I go to train and try to improve the team and the squad. Fabio [Paratici] is helping a lot in this situation. We are working very well but it’s important to know we need a bit of patience. If, then, in only one year and seven months we are able to do something very special, I am the first to be very happy. I will push my players from the start until the end of the season to have ambition and be competitive in every game and every competition we are going to play.”
There has been plenty of praise dished out for Tottenham’s proactive transfer window and the expectations among the fans in growing. So what is Conte’s target for the season ahead?
Antonio Conte said: “My target is to try to be competitive. My target is that when the other teams are going to play against Tottenham, they will be, not scared, but a bit worried. This is our target. Then I have a group of players that need to have ambition together and to go another step. When I arrived in November, I said that if we wanted to try to go up in the table, we would have to go together, to improve the team together, but at the same time, the players have to go to another level. To grow, grow, grow. I think we have a young team. We have many players that can play for Tottenham for three or four years together. I think we are trying to create a solid foundation, then to go step by step to improve and then in the end to fight for something important.”
