‘He told me’ – Chelsea icon shares what Conte told him about his Spurs squad

Gianfranco Zola has revealed Antonio Conte told him that he currently does not have enough midfield options at his disposal at Tottenham.

Tottenham were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, which was the club’s fourth defeat of the season to the Blues without reply.

Conte made four alterations to the side that snatched a dramatic late win against Leicester in midweek, with the changes forced due to knocks and fatigue.

But the switch of system and personnel was simply bypassed by Chelsea, who brought an end to Conte’s nine-game unbeaten run since returning to the Premier League.

Zola, who was at Stamford Bridge for the encounter, was spotted engaging in conversation with the Spurs head coach, and his Italian counterpart, after the game.

The Chelsea icon has since shared that they were discussing the current problems with the Spurs midfield and the type of player they should be targeting before the January 31 transfer deadline.

Zola told Premier League Productions (January 23, 7:20pm): “We were just talking about that. He realises that to be top four in this country, you need quality.

“We were just talking about that. There was different quality in the last 20 meters [compared with Chelsea] and this is what makes the difference from being mid-table to top table. But he knows that. He will make the team better.

“I think in midfield, they need to have more depth. Right now, he told me that he doesn’t have many players. And not many options. I think they also need a different type of player in midfield, in my opinion.

“They probably need a midfielder that can provide goals, like [Christian] Eriksen used to do for them before. This is the type of player, in my opinion, they need very much.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Spurs have had a problem with creativity from midfield since Eriksen’s departure two years ago and that is something that should have been addressed straight away. While the odd individual brilliance of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son is a good weapon to have, it’s better to have someone behind them providing the chances at a greater capacity.

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