Tottenham Hotspur’s signing of a left-sided centre-back is an issue that manager Antonio Conte would like to fix in January.
That is according to journalist Pete O’Rourke who was speaking about the latest transfer news from Hotspur Way ahead of the January window.
Tottenham added Barcelona and France centre-back Clément Lenglet to their side this summer, as well as securing the permanent addition of Atalanta and Argentina international Cristian Romero, but were unable to add anymore left-sided additions to their central defensive ranks.
Speaking on the House of Champions podcast, Fabrizio Romano has stated that Spurs still have an interest in Inter Milan and Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, but it is unlikely that the 23-year-old will be leaving the San Siro this season, suggesting that Conte will have to wait until at least the summer to secure the signing of his compatriot.
And O’Rourke suggests that the position is a “problematic” area for the former Chelsea manager, and it’s something that he will want to be fixed in quick time.
“It’s been a problem for Conte. All summer he wanted to bring in a left sided centre-back and Tottenham weren’t able to land their top targets.
“They brought in Clément Lenglet on loan from Barcelona who’s been in and out of the team.
“So, I still think it’s a problematic position that Antonio Conte would like to fix right now in January.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments…
We think that Conte will be looking to add a left-sided central defender to his ranks this January, but may have to wait until the summer to sign his top targets, with the winter transfer always being notoriously tough to acquire top talents, with the club’s being reluctant to sell in the middle of the season.
Journalist Dean Jones has recently revealed in a GIVEMESPORT piece that the club are interested again in a move for Villarreal and Spain centre-back Pau Torres, with the La Liga star having a £55m release clause in his contract.
The same journalist also suggested that 19-year-old Benfica talent Antonio Silva may be an option for the club this winter, with the Italian manager clearly looking to add to his defensive reinforcements.
We think that Conte may struggle to get his desired targets over the line in the new year due to the aforementioned struggles in the January market, and therefore feel that he could be left frustrated heading into the second-half of the campaign.