Tottenham legend Clive Allen says “born winner” Antonio Conte has built a launch-pad for Spurs to challenge for the title.
Since Bill Nicholson's Double winners in 1960-61 plundered 115 League goals on their way to glory in black and white, the closest Tottenham have come to the summit was five years ago – when Conte was ringmaster of Chelsea's Premier League triumph. Now the Italian firebrand, boosted by a £150million injection of capital from the club's owners in the summer, has landed six new players – Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster.
And when Spurs open their season at home to Southampton on Saturday, fans and players alike are convinced Conte will leave behind the 'Spursy' bad old days of bottling the big challenges when opportunity knocks. Allen scored 49 goals in all competitions, in an exotic team orchestrated by Glenn Hoddle's guile and Chris Waddle at full throttle, when Tottenham finished third on David Pleat's watch in 1986-87.
Tuning into the waves of optimism in N17, Allen said: “I think Tottenham are in their strongest position to challenge for the title in a long, long time. They have been close a couple of times, but Conte doesn't do close: He is a born winner, a proven winner, who has brought success to all the clubs where he has worked.
“We know Harry Kane and Heung-min Son is among the best front partnerships in the Premier League, if not the best, but what Conte has done is to address deficiencies in other parts of the team. He has added players in areas where he felt it necessary, the squad runs deeper and they are geared up for the Champions League as well as the home front.
"You look at the way they finished last season, meeting the challenge head-on to finish fourth and claim that Champions League spot... the progress has been fantastic.Spurs fans have every right to be excited. They have seen six new players come in and they can feel the momentum building.”
Conte, 53, has won five titles with three clubs – Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan – but he claimed finishing fourth with Tottenham last season, in a shoot-out with neighbours Arsenal, ranked among his best achievements.
He has already succeeded where others failed by persuading chairman Daniel Levy to loosen the purse strings and give the green light to a £100million trolley dash, and his spending may not be finished for this window, with Roma playmaker Nicolo Zaniolo and Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar remaining high on Conte's wish-list.
Twelve months ago, Spurs opened the campaign with three straight wins to top the embryonic Premier League table, but the early optimism of the unlamented Nuno Espirito Santo's reign faded like a summer holiday tan.
But if Conte makes a positive start – Tottenham's second game, at Chelsea, already has the look of an early marker – they could threaten Manchester City and Liverpool's monopoly of the title since 2018.
