Oliver Skipp, when fit, was often one of the first names on Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur team sheet last season. The problem being, of course, that he wasn’t ‘fit’ nearly enough for the Italian’s liking.
“He is a player that I have seen great improvement in. It’s a pity that he is unavailable,” Conte told Football London in February after Skipp suffered an injury which would keep him out of action for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign.
“I push the medical department (to help him recover). Because we’re talking about an important player for Tottenham Hotspur.”
Conte will have been delighted to learn, then, that Skipp came through 80 minutes unscathed in midweek; Spurs beating Peterborough United 3-1 in a friendly clash.
“It’s always nice to get minutes,” Skipp tells Spurs’ official website. “I feel fine. No problems.”
That ‘injury prone’ tag, however, is a difficult one to shake. This year alone, Skipp has missed six months, and over 20 games. And with Tottenham setting their sights on a number of midfielders in the Skipp mould ahead of the January transfer window, Conte may be looking to avoid a repeat of the situation he found himself in during the spring, when Spurs had to do without the one-time Norwich City loanee during the business end of a gruelling campaign.
Tottenham could look to sign another Oliver Skipp in January transfer window
Tottenham remain in contention to sign Morocco’s £34 million-rated World Cup colossus Sofyan Amrabat, having come within touching distance of a loan-to-buy deal in a previous window. Per 90Min, the London giants are also keeping tabs on Sao Paulo’s all-action 20-year-old Pablo Maia.
If Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bencantur are ‘specialists’ in a certain area, then Skipp, Amrabat and Maia are perhaps in the ‘jack of all trades’ category. Highly energetic, they are equally impressive in and out of possession; effective pressers and relentless harryiers, also boasting a respectable range of passing. If Skipp was ruled out again for a significant period, either Amrabat or Maia could step in and perform a similar role without too much difficulty.
“Oliver Skipp, it is a pity,” Conte told The Guardian following Spurs’ dismal FA Cup defeat at Middlesbrough. “In England, I think that sometimes you should have a (press) conference with the medical department. It is too easy for the doctors to work here because they don’t speak. They don’t explain what happens.
“Skipp is not ready. He’s having this problem with groin pain. He is fighting. He could recover before but maybe something was wrong. And now we have to wait.”
Skipp’s long-term absence hit Conte hard. At least, if Amrabat or Maia arrives in January, Spurs will be in a better position to adapt if the injury curse strikes Skipp again in 2023.
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