Antonio Conte is no longer allowed to talk to the Italian media about Tottenham Hotspur, the manager of the London club said at the press conference on Friday. Conte caught up this week Sky Italy scathingly looking forward to the transfer policy of his own employer, but believes that it is mainly due to the translation thereof in the English press. “I don’t understand why it’s being made a problem,” Conte said.
Conte had great expectations of the winter transfer window, but was disappointed, the coach said on Italian television on Wednesday. “In January we lost four players, four important players to Tottenham,” said Conte. “And we only got two in return. Even if you look at the numbers, instead of strengthening the squad, we weakened it on paper. Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski have a great future at Tottenham, because Tottenham is looking to young players that they can develop and grow. The club is not getting players who are ready. That’s the whole problem.”
The interview hit like a bomb in England, but Conte doesn’t want to make it bigger than it is. British media did not understand why the Italian called the four departed players Dele Alli (Everton), Tanguy Ndombélé (Olympique Lyon), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal) and Bryan Gil (Valencia) ‘important’, because they were rarely used. “I said that because Tottenham paid a lot of money for them,” Conte said on Friday. “If you spend a lot of money, it means we are talking about important players for the club.”
Conte feels misunderstood. “If I had 20 players before and now I have 18, you might have gotten a little weaker… numerically,” said Conte. “But I also said afterwards that with Kulusevski and Bentancur we are more complete as a team. I think I was very, very clear. I also said that the club did what it could do. I have read stories about alleged problems between me and the chairman (Daniel Levy, ed.). The chairman knows exactly what I think about it, I do not go to the media for that. If I have something to discuss with him, I go straight to him.”
Tottenham have banned Conte from talking to Italian media. “I am disturbed by the situation that has arisen. It means that the club does not want me to speak to Italian media anymore, because the translation did not correspond well with what I meant.” Rumors of a quick departure from Tottenham are suppressing Conte. “I’ve always said that I enjoy my time at Tottenham and working with these players. I’ve always said that. We have four months to go this season and then we’ll see.” That last quote is remarkable, because Conte signed in November until mid-2023.