Antonio Conte is feeling the absence of Oliver Skipp from his Tottenham Hotspur side as his injury woes continue, according to Pete O’Rourke.
The football journalist was speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT amid the north London club’s recent struggles to pick up any consistency in their form.
Who would you start alongside Bentancur?
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Oliver Skipp
The 21-year-old midfielder has been sidelined since January with a suspected pelvic issue which has come to the frustration of the Italian manager.
Conte has expressed his frustration in his press conferences with the Spurs boss still unaware of when Skipp could possibly return to his squad.
And, it appears as if the midfielder is growing in frustration too.
But having become a regular starter this season under Conte, O’Rourke believes the Italian’s frustrations will only grow without the young midfielder available:
“Looking at Antonio Conte’s words, he sees it as a big loss. Skipp has come in this season and has performed really well; he’s kept the likes of Harry Winks out of the team,” O’Rourke told GMS.
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments…
We have to agree with O’Rourke as the January transfer window saw Spurs offload a number of midfielders and Skipp’s injury has only weakened Conte’s available options.
In the last three games, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been able to improve his form and has remained relatively consistent, however, Conte clearly does not have many options off the bench.
Harry Winks is the only senior midfielder left on Conte’s bench with youngster Harvey White being called up to fill the spots in the matchday squad.
However, having Skipp back will be a huge boost for Conte and having spoken so highly of him already, we will be interested to see if Skipp is Conte’s ideal partner for Rodrigo Bentancur.
In other news: ‘Arms spread in disbelief’ – Journalist reveals Tottenham ace left Conte furious