Jamie O’Hara has claimed that the unhappy Antonio Conte didn’t want Tottenham Hotspur to sign Djed Spence and on-loan Villarreal winger, Arnaut Danjuma, as he called the duo ‘number three’ picks.
In the summer, Djed Spence, after winning promotion to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest, arrived from Middlesbrough, only to barely play ten minutes of Premier League football before being loaned to Ligue 1 side, Rennes, in January.
The 22-year-old might have a point to prove across the channel because the French media delivered their verdict on Spence’s most-recent display against PSG and Kylian Mbappe, where he received high praise.
But whilst one signing under Conte headed for the exit door without hardly playing, another one has now seemingly taken his place.
In January, Spurs swooped in at the last minute ahead of Everton and signed Arnaut Danjuma on a loan deal from Villarreal, but fast forward to the present and he has only played 47 minutes of football under Conte since joining – it’s fair to say that Danjuma might be regretting that call now.
Those signs are pretty clear that the duo weren’t what Conte wanted, which was touched upon by Jamie O’Hara, as he told talkSPORT Breakfast (20/03/23).
“I guarantee you, he didn’t want to sign Djed Spence,” said O’Hara. “He didn’t want to sign Danjuma. There are players there that he has brought in, that I guarantee you that were not number one on his list.
“They were probably number two or three down on the list. I think he has gotten disillusioned with that by saying ‘I need these players (number one picks) if you want me to win trophies, then there are certain players I want that you have to go out and spend on’. Spurs haven’t done that.”
TOTTENHAM ARE IN A MESS
In terms of Tottenham’s Premier League standing, there shouldn’t be any issues because they are sat in fourth place, and with this squad of players, the fans can’t expect to be higher.
But, off the field, it’s all starting to go wrong following Conte’s rant. There are suggestions that Daniel Levy could sack the Italian, but Matt Doherty thinks Spurs should stick with their head coach.
Either way, it would be a huge surprise if Conte is still at the club post-international break because his comments post-Southampton were pretty vicious to the ears of those in Tottenham colours.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
