Heading into the January window, Tottenham Hotspur wanted to improve their forward group to lessen the dependence on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. After a month of rumors, the north London club landed Juventus’ Dejan Kulusevski.
With Kulusevski now set to be part of Spurs, many will ask what the 21-year-old will bring to the table. Italian football journalist Gianluca Di Marzio spoke with Sky Sports to give supporters an insight into the type of player they acquired.
Di Marzio states that Kulusevski hasn’t found his position during his time with Juventus. However, he adds that if any manager can figure out the best position for the 21-year-old is Antonio Conte.
“Kulusevski is a very talented player – it’s difficult to understand what is his real position, but Antonio Conte is the perfect coach to understand where best to use him in the right system,” Di Marzio said.
“Fabio Paratici is the man who brought Kulusevski from Atalanta to Juventus. Conte wanted him too when he was at Inter Milan because, at that Christmas time, the two teams were both challenging to sign him off Atalanta.”
Furthermore, Di Marzio also touched on what Rodrigo Bentancur will bring to the squad. The Italian football journalist stated that the Uruguay international needed a change of scenery, adding that Conte is the manager to breathe some new life into the midfielder.
“Conte and Fabio are the right couple to allow Kulusevski to reach his highest level, while Rodrigo Bentancur is an important midfielder. I feel he can be important for Tottenham. In the last months at Juventus, he didn’t play so well because he needed to change,” Di Marzio said.
“I feel he can be an important player for Tottenham. Antonio can let him play in the right way. Bentancur needs to be stimulated, and Antonio is the right man to refresh him.”
It’s not our club – belongs to ENIC and while I am also frustrated, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Louis is the billionaire not Levy.
So, when Levy goes to Louis with cap in hand he’s going to say ‘convince me that any forthcoming funds won’t be wasted on crap like ndombele, lo celso, Njie, nkodu, janssen, soldado, the list is endless.
At least temporarily, we’ve got rid of a whole load of players who’ve barely done anything for us on the pitch in an age and Conte was not picking, in some cases not even for the sub’s bench and brought in two players he and Parataci and Conte are very familiar with. By all accounts, during his time at Inter Conte wanted Kulusevski. I’m not clear how that makes us weaker.
As for the positions he might have wanted players for, Diaz is a winger, so would you have been criticising the Diaz deal if it had gone through? Conte himself has said it will take more than one window to sort our squad out and that the winter window is not a great time for buying players. Perhaps he takes the practical approach and is happy enough to make progress in one area.
So we’ve signed Juventus’ Dele
It’s been a bad window again. 2 in 4 out. The two in aren’t a significant upgrade to what we already had, to be honest I think we are weaker than when the window started.
Conte Evaluated the squad and was very clear, we all knew what he wanted, a left footed centre back, a right wing back, an attacking central creative midfielder and a striker. So Levy with the help of Paratici goes and buys him a winger and another defensive midfielder, nothing like what Conte asked for, they only got those two because of Paratici’s links to Juve.
Every window is the same, Levy makes out he’s making offers for all these top players, big money offers, knowing full well they won’t sign or come. And every window we end up signing average players at best. But it’s all OK because Levy’s made another profit in the window and all the Spurs fans have been fooled into believing it’s been a great window for us.
The true Spurs fans will make themselves heard at the next home game and will be calling for Levy and Lewis to get out of OUR club.
Without having seen much of either player (I recall the Swede being decent at the Euros) I am moderately encouraged by the signing of these two. Folk keep hammering on about a new right wing back, a centre half and a forward, but for me, our main problem now that Conte seems to have shored up the defence a bit is the dysfunctional midfield. Whichever midfield combination we have put out, there has been a lack of creativity and ball retention has also not been great. If these two can lift the standard in those areas enough to get some decent service through to Kane and Son, that should improve us. It may not turn us into title contenders overnight, but, hopefully, a step in the right direction.
And where does this stuff about us taking blokes who can’t get a game at Juve come from? Leaving aside the fact benchwarmers at a good many clubs would be an improvement of several of our players, if you go to fbref.com, at least Bentancur seems to have had a fair amount of game time.
If all those mentioned left the club you’d need two central defenders and two central midfielders (one creative, one all-rounder) I feel
We only need to get rid of Sanchez, Davies, Doherty, Gollini, Winks and hope Lo Celso and Ndombele play well to secure moves . Then we can get a successor to Lloris, a decent right and centre back, a creative midfielder and striker.
Two in and four out…how much of a saving have we made on the wage bill? Does seem like we’re clearing space for a ‘record signing’ or two come the summer
Conte is a first who than what type of manager.
Hopefully we can trust Antonio’s judgement. I feel Poch had a tight group of around 15/16 players, and at that time there wasn’t any bad influences in the dressing room, and Poch did this by getting rid of who he didn’t feel fitted in with his plans, so I think that’s what Conte did yesterday. I don’t really care if some of the players we let go become a success elsewhere, the important thing for me is that they were not appearing to become a success for us..