Tottenham Hotspur have announced that the first-team will travel to Israel in pre-season to compete in the I-Tech Cup against side AS Roma. Though a pre-season clash, the tie could to be a feisty affair as Jose Mourinho prepares to face his former side.
The exhibition match will take place on July 30 at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa. The bout will conclude Spurs' pre-season preparations for the 2022/23 season, with Antonio Conte eager to build upon a fruitful debut campaign at White Hart Lane.
The Tottenham website adds that the match will be broadcasted live on SPURSPLAY – the club's new streaming service, launching this summer – with 'exclusive live rights in the UK and Ireland'. It will be the fourth time either side have met in their club's history, and the seventh that Spurs have visited Israel.
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Speaking on the pre-season trip, transfer chief Fabio Paratici said: “We are looking forward to an exciting fixture against a strong opponent in AS Roma. It will provide good preparation for the start of the new season the following weekend, as we look to build on a strong 2021/22 season.”
Tottenham's pre-season begins with a tour of Korea in early July, with exhibition matches against Team K League (July 13) and Sevilla (July 16) in the Coupang Play Series. Spurs will then return to the United Kingdom and play Rangers at Ibrox on July 23.
However, a summer trip away to Israel for pre-season will be the least of Conte's worries for the moment, with the summer transfer window fast-approaching. The Telegraph claim that the Spurs boss wants as many as six arrivals this window; a centre-back, a right wing-back, two midfielders, a forward and a back-up goalkeeper.
He told Sky Sport Italia in February: "Four players left in January. Four important players for Tottenham, two have arrived. So even numerically instead of strengthening you may have, on paper, weakened."
In April, though, the Italian boss appeared to dial things back a little, stressing the impact of the two new signings, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski. Conte said: “I said that with these two players, despite that we lost four players in January, with these two new signings we made this squad more complete, with more balance.
"I think that it’s very important in football to have a clear idea and to have a good vision. Because in this way, the situation is more simple."
