Antonio Conte is officially Tottenham’s new manager, and now attention turns to the squad and the transfer window.
The Italian has always demanded backing wherever he’s gone, with the lack of it this season and the need to sell key stars the reason he left Inter Milan.
Indeed, it was also part of the reason talks with Tottenham failed the first time, with him harbouring doubts about the structure at the club and whether he’d be fully supported.
Those doubts have now been dismissed, and he’s their new head coach, an appointment that rightfully has Spurs fans overjoyed and excited.
Several reports have already indicated that Tottenham will be spending big come January and Corriere Dello Sport cover that today with the ‘names in demand’ at the club and how Spurs plan to go about getting them.
They explain that Conte flew to London yesterday and met with Fabio Paratici and Tottenham’s top management, led by Daniel Levy, in the late afternoon and evening before signing officially today.
That will have involved discussions around the squad and transfers, and there is a feeling that there is a need to ‘rebuild’.
The ‘main issue’ is Harry Kane and what Conte will do with him. Does he try to mend a broken relationship or let him go in the summer for a big fee and replace him?
If it’s the latter, there is a ‘strong interest’ in Dusan Vlahovic, but he could be signed either as Kane’s ‘heir’ or to play alongside him and let the England star become a number ten like last year.
At the moment, everyone is assuming Conte will play three at the back, and if that is the case, ‘work’ will have to be done.
While Emerson and Sergio Reguilon ‘have the quality’ for the wing-backs Conte likes, the centre of defence is ‘unprotected’.
Summer signing Cristian Romero should be fine as he was wanted by Paratici, but the likes of Dier, Sanchez and Rodon ‘do not inspire too much confidence’.
Upfront Son is likely to play a more central role, but the likes of Berwijn, Gil and Lucas Moura are ‘not easy to place’ in Conte’s system unless there is a change of roles for them.
Central midfield is another big issue, with it remaining to be seen what the Italian will do. Conte can try to ‘rehabilitate’ the likes of Nndombele and Alli, but Winks, Skipp and even Hojbjerg could be out. There’s not even a mention of Lo Celso.
In short, Corriere say there is a need for the team to be ‘be rebuilt from the bottom up’, and there are two question marks remaining in that regards.
Firstly, will the money Tottenham put up match Conte’s ambition? The amounts offered by Juve, Chelsea and Inter weren’t, and that led to his departure from each club.
Secondly, there is the duration of the agreement. An 18-month contract seems like a short time to rebuild a club, although Conte is happy with it for the time being.
He just wanted to get back into the game, and Tottenham have offered it, with the rebuild now on and the squad apparently facing a major overhaul.
