Antonio Conte has admitted that he was impressed with Yves Bissouma’s performances against Tottenham Hotspur last season.
Tottenham’s capture of Bissouma for an initial £25m (Daily Mail) from Brighton has been described by some pundits has the best pound-for-pound deal of the summer (Sportskeeda).
The Mali international adds more competition for places in the middle of the park and will battle it out with Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for a place in Spurs’ starting eleven.
Conte admitted that the Mali international’s performances for the Seagulls against his side last season caught his eye.
The Tottenham head coach told Spurs TV: “Ya, he impressed us. In the two games (he played against us), he played very well but the whole season he played really well. He is another important player that now we are adding to the midfield.”
Conte also expressed his delight at Tottenham’s capture of Richarlison, who has been the club’s most expensive signing of the summer so far, with the fee potentially rising to £60m including add-ons (Guardian).
The Italian stated that the former Everton forward’s ability to play across the front three will be of huge value to Spurs for the upcoming season.
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He said about the Brazilian: “We know very well about his talent. We are talking about a striker that can play in all three positions in front.
“I like him because he is very strong mentally and it’s not easy to play against him because during the game he’s always very strong. We need this type of player with great character. Strong physically but at the same time with good quality.”
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It is evident from Conte’s words that Richarlison was always Tottenham’s number one forward target this summer despite the club reportedly also exploring moves for the likes of Raphinha and Gabriel Jesus.
With five substitutions being allowed next season, the option to bring on a player of Ricaharlison’s quality (or Kulusevski) from the bench, could be of major help next season.
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