Christmas Day has finally arrived and Antonio Conte and his Tottenham team will soon be digging into the presents underneath the Christmas tree. A year full of ups and downs once again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, nobody will want to open a gift and find a lump of coal waiting for them.
So what exactly will they receive this year? Antonio Conte will be hoping he has a huge January transfer kitty that he can splurge in the new year, whereas Son Heung-min may be praying for some new boots that can see him hit the goal trail after such a disappointing end to 2022.
But who exactly will be on Conte's naughty and nice list this Christmas? football.london takes a look.
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Nice list
Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are certainly going to be in the running for Tottenham's Player of the Year award if they can take their form from the first part of the season into the second half of the campaign. The pair have been outstanding in the middle of the park and contributed with a number of important goals and assists to keep the team in the mix for a top-four finish.
Their goals proved vital in the Champions League as well, with Bentancur netting a late equaliser against Sporting CP and Hojbjerg sealing top spot in Group D with a winner in the last few seconds of their final group match at Marseille. Conte has been extremely reliant on the pair so far and they are going to prove vital to Tottenham's aspirations in 2023.
Harry Kane
Kane will be intent on getting back on the scoresheet at Brentford on Boxing Day after his England World Cup heartache. Going into the tournament in Qatar in good form after plundering 12 goals in 15 Premier League appearances, the 29-year-old scored twice for the Three Lions but unfortunately missed a late penalty against France in their crucial quarter-final clash.
A moment Kane will never ever forget, the miss could in fact benefit Tottenham in what remains of the season as he will be fully focused on putting it behind him and doing what he does best in front of goal. The year may not have ended how the striker would have liked but he has been an integral part of Conte's Spurs side in 2022.
Gianni Vio
Set-piece specialist Vio will also find himself on Conte's nice list this year after making a huge contribution to the Tottenham team. A man with plenty of experience in the game having worked for a host of clubs, Spurs are now reaping the rewards of his appointment.
The side have scored an incredible 10 goals from set pieces in 2022/23, which is in fact the most of any Premier League side this campaign. Spurs also rank highly for the least amount of goals conceded from set pieces as they are in third place after letting in just two.
Vio has made a huge difference at Tottenham since his arrival and that only bodes well for 2023.
Fabio Paratici
There's no way Paratici can be put on the naughty list as that wouldn't work in Conte's favour ahead of the January transfer window. The managing director of football has made his mark at the club in 2022 after making some stellar signings.
Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski's arrivals top the lot after making such an impact since joining from Juventus at the end of the January transfer window. Ivan Perisic has more than contributed with seven assists following his free transfer move, with Clement Lenglet and Richarlison also making an impression in the first team.
Conte should buy Paratici whatever he wants at the end of January if his fellow countryman can top the deals that saw Bentancur and Kulusevski join 11 months ago.
Naughty list
Thomas Tuchel
It's seem an awful long time ago that Conte was involved in a touchline fracas with Thomas Tuchel following Tottenham's 2-2 draw away at Chelsea. Claiming a point in stoppage time courtesy of Kane's header, it all kicked off seconds later when the head coaches went to shake hands.
With tensions simmering during the game following a couple of incidents involving both, the pair went head-to-head after Tuchel had Conte's hand in a firm grip and wouldn't let go as he felt his counterpart had been disrespectful by not looking him in the eye. It resulted in players and staff members from both sides getting involved to try and split the two up, with both handed red cards by referee Anthony Taylor as a result of the incident.
Tuchel was fined £35,000 and handed a one-match ban, with Conte avoiding a ban but receiving a £15,000 fine for his part in the melee. The German shouldn't be expecting a Christmas card nor present from the Spurs head coach this year.
Match officials from Sporting CP game
Tottenham will be competing in the knockout phase of the Champions League come February after some late drama in their final group game. Needing a point in Marseille to advance, Spurs had to rally in the second half to come from a goal behind before Hojbjerg's last-minute winner saw them clinch top spot.
Tottenham could have in fact travelled to the south of France safe in the knowledge that they were already guaranteed of a place in the next phase of the competition had they beaten Sporting CP a week earlier. However, Kane's goal right at the death to put them 2-1 ahead was controversially ruled out by VAR.
The decision sparked angry scenes inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Conte dismissed by referee Danny Makkelie following his angry reaction to the decision. It's safe to say that Makkelie and Pol van Boekel, who was on VAR duty that evening, are on the naughty list and they won't be coming off it.
Son Heung-min
It has been a rather strange year for Son Heung-min. Outstanding during the first part of 2022 as he went on an incredible run in front of goal to win the 2021/22 Premier League Golden Boot, the goals have completely dried up this season.
Son only has five goals to his name from 19 appearances, with the goals coming in only two of those games. Much had been made of his barren run in the opening weeks of the campaign but he then silenced his critics with an outstanding hat-trick in the space of 13 minutes after coming off the bench against Leicester City.
Enjoying a good international break with South Korea and registering a double early in October vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Son has for whatever reason not kicked on and looks a shadow of the player he was only a few months earlier. The goals will come for him in 2023, though, and that will undoubtedly be high up on Conte's Christmas wish list.
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