Antonio Conte has said that Ryan Sessegnon is now a completely different player to the one he was 10 months ago when he first arrived in north London.
Sergio Reguilon was Conte’s preferred option at left wing-back when the Italian first took over from Nuno Espirito Santo in November of last year.
However, once Sessegnon put his injury woes behind him, he took the Spaniard’s place in the starting eleven and had a strong finish to last season.
The 22-year-old began this campaign strongly, finding the back of the net in Tottenham’s opening day win over Southampton.
Conte has given the nod to Ivan Perisic over the Fulham man for Spurs’ last three clashes against Wolves, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.
The Italian has now said that he is more than happy with the two options he has at left wing-back and insisted that he trusts Sessegnon to play against any opposition, be it in the Premier League or the Champions League.
The Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “About Sess, we are talking about now a young player but a reliable player who I can count on him for games in the Premier League or Champions League, for every game. You know very well I try in every game to make the right decision but in that role, I am okay because I have Perisic and Sessegnon, two important players.
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“He improved a lot and I remember very well when I arrived Sessegnon was another player. Now he is a reliable player and he has great confidence. He is strong physically and improved in his quality and technically.
“We are talking about a really good player, a young player that can become stronger but this is the difference between other young players. We are talking about a player who play many games and is reliable for every game, not only for tomorrow or FA Cup, for every game he is ready.”
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Sessegnon has always possessed the pace, power and goalscoring ability to evolve into a top wing-back.
He has also pleasantly surprised me with how good he is in defending one vs one situations. That is the one area where he has an edge over Perisic.
However, the Croat is not only a better crosser but he is also far more reliable with the ball in tight areas while Sessegnon still has room for improvement in possession.
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