Antonio Conte will be using this World Cup break to work on drilling his philosophy into some of his players and that might include finding the best position for two of his midfielders.
Antonio Conte said: “The only player that is struggling a bit with the tactical aspect is Bissouma, but also he is improving a lot in every aspect. “I am sure when we start again and play 12 games [during the pre-World Cup fixture pile-up], for sure he is another player I can count on but I try to take the best decision for the player because I want to protect the player. The midfielder is a specific role for us, with the ball and without the ball. It’s not simple. I ask for some moments, some positions. They have to be a point of reference in every moment of the game. The midfielder for sure, to go into our idea of football is maybe the most difficult position, but we are talking about a player that has great skill, good running. With the ball he’s really good, defensively he has to pay more attention. More attention because especially we only have two midfielders and then they have to be good with the ball and without the ball, but I’m really happy with his signing.”
The 26-year-old’s more recent displays against Leicester and Liverpool have shown what he can do but he’s still nowhere near the player yet that he was at Brighton. Then there is Oliver Skipp. Spurs have high hopes for the 22-year-old and Conte believes that the England U21 international can become a top midfielder.
Antonio Conte said: “This player is very young. He has really a lot of space for improvement. He played with great intensity, great passion, with heart, with soul. I think it was important because for me he doesn’t care if he’s only 21-years-old, who deserves to play. I think that I can improve him a lot in possession and technically, to look before the play that they have to do. We’re talking about an important prospect and I’m very happy for him, but now he has to continue in this way. For sure, the part that he has to improve is with the ball but in one month I have seen a lot of improvement about Skippy. He’s a player who wants to improve. I think that the present and the future depends on him. If he wants to become a top midfielder, he could become a top midfielder, but he has to continue to work. He has this will, this desire to become an important player for Tottenham and for the present and for the future.”
From the end of January Skipp had to spend months out as a pelvic injury grew too difficult to manage and during that time a frustrated Conte admitted that the young midfielder had already become an important player for him. After surgery towards the end of the season and making a full recovery in the summer, Skipp then suffered a freak injury that kept him out of the first month of the new campaign.
