Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte on the need for new central defenders after Brentford draw
Antion Conte and his Tottenham Hotspur were put to a pulsating 2-2 draw against Brentford in the opening game of the restart of the Premier League.
Tottenham were given a scare when Brentford went 2-0 up near the hour mark and it looked like it could turn out to be a bad evening for Antonio Conte’s team.
However, the team showed a spirited comeback with goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg which helped us rescue one point and for the time being and stay fourth in the league.
Conte at various stages of the game was seen being livid over the team’s disorganised defence and was asked a similar question after his side drew against Brentford. Clement Lenglet had a good game, especially when the team was on the attack, but his good performances offer no long-term hope given he will return to Barcelona this summer.
Conte along with Fabio Paratici have been looking to add quality centre-backs to the squad and the Italian manager (h.t Football.London) spoke about the current state of the team’s defence.
“Now we have recovered also Japhet Tanganga, also the first game of the season. He started a lot with his knee. He needs a bit of time to get into the game. I’m pleased for him to play a game today.”
“With central defenders we are good, we have to continue to work. Cuti Romero comes back to training tomorrow. In one side, I’m a bit disappointed in the other we’re scoring a lot of goals and creating a lot.”
It is now the ninth consecutive game that Spurs have conceded the first goal of the game and for a manager who has built his reputation on having defensively solid teams, the stat would give Conte sleepiness nights.
Many times in the past few games, we start very slowly and by the time the players get into the rhythm, we are already in the process of chasing the game. Hence, this is something that Conte and his team would need to look at urgently or it can hamper our chances of finishing in the top four.
Although Conte is coy about needing new recruitments in his defence, it is pretty evident that the team can use additions in defence. That is the only position where Tottenham are evidently in need of an upgrade, with Eric Dier and Cristian Romero our only two quality natural centre-backs.
Alessandro Bastoni is one name which has been mentioned, with Conte knowing the player well from his time at Inter Milan. The Italy international would be an instant upgrade on some of the options in our defence.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Tottenham Hotspur to be without Richarlison, Cristian Romero, and Hugo Lloris for Brentford clash
- Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira sends transfer plea to Tottenham Hotspur target Wilfried Zaha
- Manchester City could be without Ruben Dias for Tottenham Hotspur clash
After having a very decent summer transfer window, Daniel Levy might have to shell some more money out to help the manager or could risk the chance of letting the project go haywire come the end of the season.
