‘Helped me a lot’: Summer signing hails the impact of one Tottenham figure

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Tottenham Hotspur ace Cristian Romero has sung the praises of manager Antonio Conte as the Italian has helped the centre-back reach a higher level since he took charge of the club.

Cristian Romero names Antonio Conte as Tottenham figure who ‘helped me a lot’

Cristian Romero has told Sky Sports that Antonio Conte has ‘helped him a lot’ in a tactical sense since the Italian replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in charge of Tottenham Hotspur. The north Londoners moved to appoint Conte last November after just 17 games under Nuno.

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Nuno was at the helm when Tottenham initially hired Romero on loan from Atalanta in the summer of 2021. He proved to be a mainstay of their defensive structure during last term, then helped take their summer spending to £172m when signing permanently for £42.5m.

Tottenham only finalised the permanent signing of Romero at the end of August, with the 24-year-old penning a five-year contract. He had already featured in two Premier League games before the full-time deal, and later returned from injury to face Fulham last month.

The postponement of Tottenham’s trip to Manchester City means Romero could record his fourth top-flight outing of the term at home to Leicester City this Saturday. He has also had two Champions League group stage appearances against Marseille and Sporting Lisbon.

Antonio Conte usually able to rely on late-window permanent summer signing

Romero was arguably operating below his usual levels in Lisbon as Tottenham fell to a 2-0 Group D defeat to Sporting. Substitute Arthur Gomes beat the 11-cap Argentina star with relative ease after coming off the bench and cutting inside on route to slotting the ball in.

Conte has usually been able to rely on Romero dictating the structure of Tottenham’s work in defence with his high press and ability on the ball. The Cordoba native hails the Italian’s methods for taking his game to its usual standards, and where Conte is now taking Spurs.

“He is a manager who has helped me a lot tactically,” Romero said. “The career he has had shows how good he is and I think we are on a good path. Every day I wake up with a desire to keep learning.”