What Antonio Conte’s Silence Suggests About Tottenham Hotspur’s Season
Tottenham Hotspur signing Djed Spence received a rather awkward welcome from his new manager Antonio Conte.
Pictures of the grinning $24 million purchase from Middlesborough in a Spurs shirt had barely been released when the Italian made it clear; the transfer was not his idea.
“Spence is an investment of the club,” Conte was quoted as saying “The club wanted to do it. I said, 'OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us'. The club decided to buy him.”
It was a rare moment of vocal displeasure in what has been a remarkably quiet summer at Tottenham Hotspur for the former Chelsea manager.
Conte has no problem with publicly kicking off when he feels his club is not investing properly in the squad so the silence can only be a good thing.
It’s not hard to see why he might be satisfied, the “very, very big” transfer list he claimed to have drawn up at the end of last season appears to have been acted upon.
Since the window for buying players opened there have been six new arrivals, including the $72.6 million purchase of Everton’s Richarlison and $30 million Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma.
These acquisitions are in addition to the two signings the club made in January.
The indication, if rumors are to be believed, is that the club, despite spending well over $100 million, is not finished there.
It’s a remarkable vindication of both Conte and managing director of football Fabio Paratici’s vision by chairman Daniel Levy, a man known for driving a hard bargain and often leaving transfer business to the last moments of a window.