Darren Bent has praised Antonio Conte for providing Daniel Levy with a ‘wake-up call’ because he thinks Tottenham would ‘never’ have previously signed Ivan Perisic and Richarlison.
The former striker shared that Perisic, at the age of 33, ‘wouldn’t have walked through the doors’ at Hotspur Way, whilst Levy wouldn’t have put £60 million on the table for a player that effectively is starting as a back-up.
Conte hasn’t just proven his worth for what he has done in previous jobs to earn this trust, but also when he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in the dugout last season and proceeded to secure Champions League football for the club.
That resulted in the north London outfit going crazier than usual in the market, including smashing their club transfer record and possibly winning the business concluded by Premier League teams this summer.
There isn’t anyone, not just in the Premier League, but in Europe, more stubborn than Tottenham’s chairman, but with Fabio Paratici running the transfer ship now, it has allowed the club to operate in the manner in which fans want.
Will that result in Spurs ending their drought to win a trophy? Well, only time will tell, as Bent shared his thoughts on Conte changing Levy’s approach in the market, as he told DAZN.
“Conte probably gave the board a wake-up call that they needed,” said Bent. “Daniel Levy, he tends to buy players that are a little bit younger. Develop them and then sell them later on.
“Conte said ‘if I am going to be here as manager, then I need players who are ready to go now’. Perisic would never have walked through the door at Tottenham at 32 or 33. He never would have walked through the door.
“None at all (resale value on Perisic), then there is £60 million on Richarlison. It wouldn’t have happened.
“But, all of a sudden now, Conte’s like ‘no, listen, I can help get you where you need to get to, but you have to fully believe in me’. And it looks like Daniel Levy has finally learnt by his mistakes, that’s why they look tougher.”
SQUAD BULKED UP
Conte made it clear that he didn’t want the levels within the team to drop when he made changes to his XI, and so far, that is proving to be the case.
Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Clement Lenglet, all didn’t start the new season, but they have all earned starts since and played their part in the team remaining unbeaten.
That’s pretty impressive given that Spurs have played Chelsea, a Fulham team sitting in the top ten, West Ham and their Champions League opener against Marseille in midweek.
Despite all this positivity, Conte has made it clear that the gap between Spurs and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City is still pretty big, so will Levy push the boat out again when the transfer window re-opens?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
