Mark Lawrenson has claimed that Antonio Conte will find it challenging to deal with Daniel Levy this summer, given the Spurs chairman’s reluctance to spend money on signings.
Five months on from Conte’s appointment, Tottenham look a much more organised team, with the players seemingly having a better understanding of their roles.
The additions of Dejan Kulusveski and Rodrigo Bentancur have seemingly made the squad a lot more complete and the Spurs boss will be eyeing a few additions in the summer ahead of his first full season in charge.
Reports indicate that signing a left-sided centre-back is a priority for Conte (The Athletic) while the Italian is also said to be keen on making upgrades at both the wing-back areas (The Sun and Football Insider).
However, Lawrenson has insisted that Conte might have a difficult job on his hands convincing Levy to loosen his purse strings. The pundit suggested that the Italian will walk away from the club this summer if he does not get the additions he wants.
Lawrenson told Off the Ball: “You have to factor Daniel Levy into all of this. In terms of buying players, good luck!
“The only problem is, the best description of Daniel Levy I have ever heard is ‘he wouldn’t give you a crumb off his plate’, so he (Conte) is going to have to deal with it.
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“The thing with Conte, I think he only signed for 18 months. Daniel Levy knows if he (Conte) doesn’t get what he wants, within reason, then he will walk away.
“So, he has got to then balance that in terms of players in and players out. And all those kinds of things.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This is a lazy narrative that pundits mindlessly perpetuate about potential friction between Levy and Conte. Firstly, it ignores the fact that Paratici now makes the footballing decisions at the club and acts as the buffer between the two.
Secondly, there is no way Conte would have agreed to take the job without full clarity on the funds available. Besides, if Levy had no intention of improving the squad and challenging, he would have appointed a ‘yes’ man rather than Conte.
Finally, it is worth remembering that Spurs have spent big over recent years since we moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, except in a couple of windows immediately after the pandemic, which affected the finances of all clubs.
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