Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte says new signings are ready for the Premier League
Speaking in his pre-match conference ahead of the midweek fixture against Southampton (h/t football.london), Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte said that new January signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur are ready to take on the Premier League.
After going almost the entire winter transfer window without seeing any new faces come in through the doors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the club raided Juventus on deadline day to complete the double signings.
Conte seems pleased with Spurs’ business last month, praising the players and claiming that he now has options that he can rely on for the rest of the season.
“Both Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski are good players and they’re working very well. For sure, they need a bit of time to understand very well and to go into the team, to understand our tactical aspect offensively and defensively, but I’m very pleased with them because I know that I can count now about them.”
The former Juventus pair made their debuts for their new club on the weekend, with both players coming off the bench in the second half for a late cameo against Brighton. Both stars will be hoping for more minutes in the next game, and continue to make an impression on the Spurs fans.
Ready for England
Both Bentancur and Kulusevski have played the majority of their senior careers in Italy, where the game is not as physical or fast-paced as it is in England. The Premier League, unfortunately, is unforgiving of players that cannot adapt to the style and intensity of its game.
Conte acknowledged the difficulty of the league, but believed that his new recruits can handle themselves in the English top-flight, as they have the necessary traits to adapt to it.
“Yeah, we’re talking about two strong players physically with good quality. Kulusevski and Bentancur are strong physically & they can play in this league. This league is not for all because you have to match quality and physicality to play in this league.”
It is very common for English football fans to see players from abroad come in and take their time to adjust to the Premier League, struggling to get on board with the rapid pace at which the game is played. Sometimes, it takes almost an entire season for players to get up to speed.
Spurs have seen that themselves with former stars Paulinho and Roberto Soldado unable to make their mark in England after making high-profile moves. Both players struggled to adapt to the Premier League and were soon shipped out.
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In Kulusevski and Bentancur however, Conte believes he has gotten quality players that are physically strong enough to handle the demands of the English top-flight. Not much could be said from their debuts this weekend, as we only got a few minutes’ worth of action from the duo.
However, we can all expect the pair to take to the field once again tomorrow when Spurs go up against Southampton in the league. Fans will want to see more of their new signings and find out whether Conte’s assessment of the players was true or not.
