Antonio Conte's latest post-match comments have caused something of a stir as Tottenham's season of toil continues. The top-four contenders slipped to a disappointing home defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, losing ground on Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Conte is the the third manager tasked with a rebuild at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino. The Premier League winner guided the club to a place in this season's Champions League, pipping rivals Arsenal at the post last term.
Conte was backed in the region of £150 million in the summer transfer window as he looked to reshape an ageing squad. Richarlison signed for close to a club-record fee, with substantial sums also paid to make the deal for Cristian Romero permanent, as well as seeing off competition for Yves Bissouma.
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Yet speaking after the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on home soil, Conte stressed this spending spree has to be the beginning of sustained investment into the squad. The former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss described pre-season talk of a title tilt as 'crazy', and made a rather unusual comparison when assessing the transfer fees involved with the rest of the 'Big Six'.
Conte told BBC Radio 5 Live: "To spend money in this way you improve the quality of your team. Otherwise if you sign seven players and you spend £60m it means you are spending maybe £10m on every player. Usually when you spend this money the level of the player is medium no? Or a young player that you have to wait to develop.
"The level now is very, very high and the level improved because Manchester United invested a lot of money and they already had important players and then put other players. Chelsea did the same, Manchester City did the same and Arsenal did the same. You always see one following the others. Also if you invest £50m or £60m then the other arrives with a bazooka and you only have a little gun compared to their bazooka."
The respective spends at Newcastle and Tottenham for 2022 are not too dissimilar, and the Magpies are way ahead of schedule as it stands. Eddie Howe's side currently sit third, four points ahead of Spurs with a top-of-the-table clash with league leaders Arsenal to come on Tuesday night.
Financial Fair Play means Newcastle cannot sustain their recent levels of investment without improving their commercial revenue streams as well as generating funds from player sales. Howe has warned he does not want to 'handcuff' the club's summer plans with an ill-judged buy this month.
It remains to be seen whether the Magpies can maintain this momentum over the course of the entire campaign, and disrupt the 'Big Six' sooner than anyone expected. But it appears that Conte's transfer plea will likely mirror Howe's approach to the upcoming windows.
Newcastle have seemingly proven they have the capacity to win matches in the absence of key stars throughout the season. The absences of Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson at various stages have not derailed the Magpies, who have still only lost once.
But of course, there are areas of the squad which United's recruitment team will almost certainly be focused upon in the coming weeks and months. Jonjo Shelvey's injury has highlighted the need for another body in the engine room, while reports suggest increased competition for Kieran Trippier is also under consideration.
Little more than a year on from being considered relegation favourites though, there is already a very high bar for new signings to clear in terms of character and quality. Newcastle's recruitment team have not put a foot wrong so far, but the next step will be by far the most challenging with a limited margin for error.
The Magpies are now in the position where they will be seeking a 'bazooka' to improve in most positions. No matter where Howe's side ultimately finish this season, the sharp rise in standards means Newcastle now seemingly find themselves in a similar boat to Tottenham when it comes to posing a sustained challenge to the rest of the 'Big Six'.
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