Speaking to the press ahead of tomorrow’s match against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has commented on the situation surrounding Arnaut Danjuma and how the player fits into his plans at the club.
Danjuma signed for Spurs in the latter stages of the January transfer windo after the player seemed set to sign for Everton, before Tottenham swooped at the last minute to hijack the deal (The Athletic) and sign the 26-year-old on loan until the end of the season.
It is thought Tottenham have the option to sign Danjuma permanently in the summer for £21 million (Rob Guest on Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast). However, the player has found his opportunities limited since joining the club.
Danjuma has made just four appearances for Spurs so far, scoring one goal in the process (Transfermarkt). Now, Tottenham manager Conte has spoken about the player’s status in his squad and how he can be utilised.
He told Football.London: “About Arnaut, for sure I’m sorry for him because he arrived in the transfer market in January and the club wanted to sign on loan this player. For sure he has good characteristics and good quality and maybe he has not specific characteristics to be a number 10, maybe he’s more a second striker or a winger.”
There are positives, though, as Conte notes: “I’m seeing his desire, his will in every training session and against Milan if we didn’t have the red card for Romero, [Danjuma] was coming [on] and to try to play with a 4-2-4. I have to always try to find the best solution.”
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Hopefully, we get to see more of Arnaut Danjuma in the coming weeks. Conte needs to mix things up in the team, and Danjuma could be the kind of spark we need in attack. If we don’t utilise him soon, then it’s yet another pointless signing made by the club.
Some fans were left scratching their heads over why Conte did not throw him on during the latter stages of the match against AC Milan when instead, he turned to defender Davinson Sanchez despite needing to score to get back into the tie.
It is always set to be a tough challenge for the 26-year-old with players such as Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison ahead of him in the pecking order, however, he needs to be given an opportunity.
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