As Antonio Conte's Tottenham side return from South Korea and the transfer window continues, so does the business the north London club are securing. Tuesday saw Spurs complete their sixth signing, with Djed Spence making the move from Middlesborough, after his successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest last season.
The 21-year-old makes the move to N17 after the arrivals of Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Clement Lenglet. Conte still has plenty of time for more business to be done this summer, but has just over two weeks until the 2022/23 season begins.
Spurs have already won one and drawn one of their pre-season friendlies so far, with two more to go in the next couple of weeks. This means the Italian still has the chance to see some of his new arrivals in action, including Bissouma.
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The Mali international missed out on featuring in the games held in South Korea, along with Fraser Forster, due to testing positive for Covid. Bissouma made 26 Premier League appearances for Brighton last season, with three goal contributions and highlighted the positive impact he can make in a team.
With Harry Winks' exit looking likely, the 25-year-old will be added for Conte's options in midfield. Pierre Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur began building a strong bond in the middle last season, after the Uruguayan's arrival. Oliver Skipp has now returned from injury, creating a strong quartet, which causes competition and allows the 52-year-old to rotate when necessary. However, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood believes there is something Bissouma is missing.
"Bissouma is a good player with good traits and sometimes it gets easier when you play with better players around you. I found that myself as a player. He can step it up a level and although they have got similar players to him, he’s an upgrade on what they had in that area. He’s got energy, he can break it up, and gets around the field," he said, speaking on behalf of 888sport.
"Unfortunately, he doesn’t score and he doesn’t assist and they have quite a lot of players like that, so for me, they still need a little bit more guile in the central areas. But he’s certainly a good addition and Tottenham have done a brilliant job to go and get him."
Earlier in the window, Spurs were linked with the likes of Christian Eriksen and Youri Tielemans. Both offer more of an attacking presence in midfield and usually provide more goal contributions than Bissouma can. However, Bissouma can still make a major impact on Conte's Tottenham side. Spurs have a number of options for their front three now, which Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski already proved can be a major threat.
If the midfield can add some more creativity and attacking flair, providing more opportunities for the front three to go on and score, it will massively help Spurs. This is where the Mali international can come in. Of course, having central midfielders that can make many goal contributions is a bonus but with the impact Conte's attacking trio and wing-backs will hopefully have next season, the midfield can influence games in other ways.
"Conte is a good fit because he’s a proven winner and that club has been starved of success now for far too long. With the backing Daniel Levy has given him this summer he is the right fit because it’s a club that needed shaking up," Sherwood explained.
"When you’re a manager, you’re not there to be anyone’s friend and Antonio knows that more than anyone. He wants their respect but he’s very demanding and that’s exactly what the squad needed."
With the type of manager Conte is, he won't have brought someone to N17 who he didn't see making a positive impact on his side. The Italian's tough managerial methods and gruelling pre-season training sessions reiterate his want to get the best out of his players.
Therefore Bissouma will still add all his positive qualities to the Spurs side but time will tell if Conte agrees with Sherwood and wants to bring in more of an attacking minded midfielder to Tottenham this summer, or work with who he currently has available.
Tim Sherwood, was speaking on behalf of 888sport. Head to 888sport for the latest sporting odds.
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