Tottenham may have new Kyle Walker and Danny Rose for Antonio Conte to work his magic on | Football | Sport
Tottenham have had as strong a transfer window as any Premier League club so far. Antonio Conte has signed Ivan Perisic and back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster on free transfers, Clement Lenglet on loan and Richarlison and Yves Bissouma for a guaranteed £75million. The Italian manager is reshaping his squad with the view to Spurs again becoming a Champions League regular and challenging at the top end of the table.
They have struggled to do so since a run of three straight top-three finishes under Mauricio Pochettino between 2016 and 2018. For the first two of those seasons Spurs had a full-back partnership that was arguably the strongest in the Premier League. Kyle Walker, now a four-time champion with Manchester City, was deployed at right-back with Danny Rose the first-choice left-back.
The pair never won trophies with Spurs but were vital cogs in an exciting Pochettino team that always showed promise of winning silverware. Now five years on, Conte may have a pair of full-backs with the ability to be as good as Walker and Rose, albeit as wing-backs.
Djed Spence joins the north London club from Middlesbrough for an initial £12.5million. Spence was sublime on loan at Nottingham Forest last term as they won the Championship play-offs, contributing two goals and five assists.
Sessegnon, capable of playing on the left wing as well as a left-sided wing-back, racked up 22 appearances last season and started all of the final six Premier League matches. He was favoured over Sergio Reguilon but has fresh competition for a starting spot from summer signing Perisic.
Perisic might be the favoured starter when the campaign gets underway but Sessegnon and England under-21 team-mate Spence could be the long-term options on either side. Their huge ceilings suggest under a manager as elite as Conte, they can grow into players as influential as Walker and Rose were. They could well become world-class if they develop properly.
Conte is known for an ability to turn wingers into wing-backs – as he did with the likes of Victor Moses and also Perisic – and so he should have the tools to unlock their full potential. If he can, Spurs can reap the rewards for years to come. And the results could be devastating.