Tottenham Hotspur first-team coach Ledley King believes that Antonio Conte may not be able to strengthen in January
In conversation with signathon.live (h/t Express), first-team coach Ledley King admits that Tottenham Hotspur and Antonio Conte could find it difficult to add suitable talent in the next transfer window.
The Italian manager has tried to instil his brand of attacking and intense football at N-17. While there has been some form of progress, there is still a lot of work to be done with the North Londoners.
A few matches may not be the best indicator of how things are, but the defeat to NS Mura in their last UEFA Europa Conference League match would have been a great wake-up call for everyone at Hotspur way.
It was also a great opportunity for the fringe players to stake a claim for more regular game time under their new manager, but the performances against the Slovenian club would have done more harm than good for their aspirations.
In light of that, it wouldn’t be wrong to think that Conte would want to bring in players that he would want to play in his system- one with a back three and attacking wing-backs. It is something you expect when you hire Conte, with such a system working wonders at Juventus, Chelsea, and Inter Milan in the past.
It remains to be seen if Conte has suitable players in that regard at his disposal right now. But King spoke on the need to get the best out of the current crop of players. He also hinted that it could be difficult to get players in the coming January transfer window:
“I think at the moment to just get the best out of this group of players that he has, identify who has the right character, who is up for the fight, who has the discipline and I think to work with this group of players could take the team up the table.
“I’m sure they will be looking at potential targets in January [but] as you say, it’s very difficult to bring players in.”
With a packed schedule, the Italian manager would have some more time to assess his options at N-17 in the coming month. This should give him a clue as to how to make the best of the players that he has at the moment.
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The supporters and hierarchy at Hotspur way would also be hoping that he can get Harry Kane to reproduce some of his stellar form in the Premier League this season. Even if Spurs struggle to get incoming transfers in the coming window, Conte has shown in previous stints that he is more than capable of developing and pushing players in his team to get the best out of them.
But Nuno Espirito Santo was given some backing in the summer window when the club saw a number of incoming and outgoings. It would be fair to think that Conte should deserve similar treatment once the winter window arrives, but that is something only time will tell.
