Don Hutchison believes Antonio Conte will get the best out of some players at Tottenham in a similar way he did with Christian Eriksen at Inter Milan.
Conte has been leading the charge at Spurs since his appointment in November, with the club now in hot pursuit of a Champions League spot.
Spurs secured a convincing 5-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday which hoisted them into the Premier League top four, while fellow competitors Arsenal stumbled with a 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
Hutchison discussed Conte’s work in lifting the spirits at Tottenham to put them in such a position, which led to him sharing a discussion he had about the Italian with Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola.
Zola allegedly explained that Conte, while as Inter boss, initially did not warm to former Spurs midfielder Eriksen and did not utilise him until he was completely happy he could trust him.
The Dane then became a key piece to the Nerazzurri’s success in winning the Serie A title, and Hutchison can see a similar scenario developing with some players at Spurs.
This also comes as Tottenham are reportedly monitoring Christian Eriksen as Brentford, along with Manchester United, with the Dane only contracted until the summer (Daily Mail).
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He told The Weekend Review (04/04/22): “I was chatting to Gianfranco Zola. He was talking about Antonio Conte, the job that he does, the brilliant manager that he is.
“Christian Eriksen came into the conversation, he said he played a couple of games under Conte. Conte said no, he doesn’t do the job I want him to do [at Inter Milan]. Bombed him for two or three games.
“He reacted in the right way, became integral to Inter winning the league. Same sort of scenario at Tottenham, he has laid down the marker to his players, if you don’t follow me – you’ll be gone, or I will.”
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Conte has been very good in getting a lot out of players that do not necessarily fit well in a team and you can say that he has somewhat done that with a few at Spurs.
The Eriksen story is a prime example of that, as it took him a while to gain the trust of Conte before becoming an important piece of his team.
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