Journalist reveals Conte wanted another player like Ivan Perisic this summer
Antonio Conte wanted to sign another player like Ivan Perisic this summer to play on the right side of the defence, according to journalist Charlie Eccleshare.
Tottenham Hotspur had a busy summer, bringing in seven new faces to the club. These signings included a mix of experienced players and exciting talent Conte has earmarked for the future, like Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie (Football.London).
Conte also reunited with Ivan Perisic, a player with whom he worked during his time at Inter Milan. The Croatian actually made the transition from being a winger to a left wing-back thanks to Conte.
Perisic brings a wealth of experience to the Spurs squad, and is a winner too, something Conte values highly. At 33 years of age, Perisic is the kind of player that Conte is able to put to use in his system immediately, with little need to adapt.
Unfortunately, Conte doesn’t have that same luxury when it comes to the right-wing-back position. He may have Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty, Djed Spence, and even Lucas Moura at his disposal, but it seems none quite fit the bill for the Italian manager.
Emerson is more accustomed to a back four, Doherty is just recovering from an injury, Spence is inexperienced at the top level, and Moura is unfamiliar with the wing-back role. It’s this dilemma that Conte would seemingly liked to have solved this summer.
We already know Conte was left ‘disappointed’ by the lack of transfer activity on deadline day (Dean Jones via Give Me Sport). Now, Charlie Eccleshare (via Give Me Sport) reveals the kind of player Conte would have liked to have signed, if given the chance.
He said: “They’d already brought in Spence. But I think, if it were up to Conte, if he could have had a Perisic equivalent on the right, someone who is a more plug-in and play option, I think he probably would have been up for that.”
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The right-wing back position is arguably the weakest area of the Tottenham Hotspur squad. Despite having four viable options for the role, each of those players isn’t quite perfect just yet. Conte is sticking with Emerson Royal at the moment, but his delivery and decision-making leaves much to be desired.
We’ve already seen the quality of Ivan Perisic right from the off, and the thought of having someone like that on the other side of the pitch too is tantalising.
Hopefully, Conte gets his man at some point in the near future to bring balance to the team. The only thing standing in the way is the matter of making space in the squad by selling someone like Royal or Doherty.
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