Football fans apart from Tottenham seem to forget that Spurs almost started the 2021/22 season without a manager, started their pre-season without one, and then panicked.
They would almost go on to name Paulo Fonseca and Genaro Gattuso before rejecting both men at the last minute, leaving them with essentially no options. That was after Antonio Conte turned down the club, and they turned him down, at the time, because of the Italian’s winning methods and the players he needed to do it. In the end they took the safe and very safe route with Nuno Espirito Santo and unfortunately the Portuguese had other problems on his mind.
harry kaneThe inevitable transfer saga had raised its horns, and Spurs spent most of the summer window battling and defending against the mighty manchester city and Kane himself. Things worked out well as City refused to spend more than €120m on a brilliant player whose physical problems at 28 were a cause for concern. It meant Kane stuck around and then raged for most of the first half of the season as Spurs barely contended for a top-ten spot, let alone in Europe.
–Then Nuno was sacked for ten league games, Conte took over and the rest is history, but then again, that’s what Conte does. Few coaches in the world are as skillful and effective as the Italian to simply walk into a team and transform it in just a few months. chelseaInter de Milan, juventus and even the Italian team has witnessed that. Apart from that, except for the Azzurri, the other three full-backs were in excellent form once Conte left.
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Both Chelsea and Juventus would win league titles with the core of the team Conte built, while Inter Milan missed out on the Scudetto last year with Simone Inzaghi, but with the core of the team Conte built. And, if anything, the way the Azzurri collapsed after Conte left is a testament to his managerial talent. So it’s no surprise that Tottenham thrived in the six months that Conte turned them into a real football team, with Harry Kane a crucial part of that equation.
–Not only Kane, but also Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski enjoyed one of the best second halves of a season the Premier League has seen. Between them, the trio combined to score 51 goals in the Premier League alone. No other trio achieved more, and no one even came close. individually, only kevin de bruyne he managed to compete with 15 goalscoring contributions, but even that put him between Kane and Son (19) and Kulusevski (13).
It shows how much they improved because while Son thrived in the first six months with 11 goal contributions, Kane and Kulusevski didn’t even reach double figures with their combined totals. It meant that in a short time, Conte not only stabilized and made Spurs a cohesive team, but made them one of the top four contenders, if not more, and it’s what he wants most. That seems to have been something Spurs have figured out because for Conte, a top-four place means absolutely nothing as the Italian has bigger ambitions.
And for now, the hierarchy seems to have responded to that, especially if the signings are a measure. Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic are archetypal Conte moves, but Richarlison will command all the attention even five days later and even later. Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus. Because while a Brazilian is exactly what many would expect from one side of North London, the other is not. Especially when you consider how badly Tottenham have burned in the past for big money moves.
But Richarlison changes all that because, on the one hand, he has something that the others don’t, and that is genuine Premier League experience. The fact that the Brazilian has been, since he arrived, practically a one-man wrecking ball for Everton it’s impressive, but the fact that he did it carrying the team on his back is impressive. However, given their offensive line and the 51 goals they put up in just half a season, few would have thought the Spurs would add another piece.
This is precisely what makes this move so impactful and sensible at the same time, and that it has Conte’s influence stamped all over it. Because by spending €60m on a striker they perhaps didn’t need, Spurs have shown ambition they didn’t have in the past. It could be put down to the long and chaotic season ahead, but make no mistake, signing a 25-year-old striker when he wasn’t needed is a sign the team wants to do more.
–Mainly because in the past, Tottenham have had this weird thing of having elite talent as substitutes, but that has hampered them, especially when everyone else hasn’t bothered with it. Manchester City might be the most significant example of all, but go back in time to title-winning teams and you’ll see the same thing happen. That’s not to say the Spurs have suddenly become title challengers with this move, but they’re on their way, or so it seems.
Simply because by signing Richarlison, Tottenham have not only shown their strength in the market, but at the same time brought in a player with minimal disadvantages. He has that brashness and aggressiveness that makes him the perfect player for Conte and a work ethic. So much so, that if Richarlison somehow manages to find another ten goals a season, he would be the new Diego Costawhich means that a change of nationalities is just around the corner.
–Richarlison for Everton in the PL during his time at the club:
◉ Most goals (43)
◉ Most shots (326)
◉ Highest number of completed hires (200)
◉ Most Final Possession Gained ⅓ (107)
◉ Most possession gained in half ⅓ (313)
◉ Most duels won (940)
◎ Second highest number of tackles (209)
😤 pic.twitter.com/drOeRoyKsQ— Squawka (@Squawka) July 1, 2022
At the same time, this is a proven player in the Premier League who not only needed but wanted to step up and would be willing to play off the bench from time to time. Add in the fact that he’s only 25, and if this move fails, then Spurs have enough left from their prime to get a decent fee, but that’s just the worst case scenario.
However, even then, as always, there are some concerns. The fact that he’s consistently outperformed his npxG by a decent amount, the fact that he’s a very streaky player who tends to fade during his downswings, but that could also be attributed to the fact that he was Everton. Not only that, these are all traits that a proper coach can improve, and as Conte has shown in the past, he is arguably one of the best in the business at turning average players into greats.
–Even then, it’s weird because you get the feeling that the Spurs fans are waiting for the ball to drop. For their side to do something “Spursy” and shoot themselves in the foot a few times just for good measure because that’s exactly what they’ve experienced in the last few decades. Because if Tottenham have been willing to do this all this time, why haven’t they done it in the past?
That, among many others related to Pochettino, must be among the many questions floating around and yet here we are sitting with Tottenham making moves to rival the best. Make no mistake, though, because while elite training, sensible transfers and Harry Kane may bridge the gap, Spurs are still a long way from contending for elite titles and honors with Manchester City and Liverpool at the moment.
And that’s not a knock against them because, with the exception of perhaps Chelsea, every Premier League team is in that pot. That’s credit to the growth and project of both teams, but at the moment at least Tottenham are making excellent progress for once and are showing signs that they know what they want to do. That alone is highly unusual, but maybe this is just the honeymoon, and the wheels are coming off soon enough in a pretty dramatic way, or maybe they’ve learned from their mistakes.
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