Joe Cole thinks Antonio Conte will ‘stay’ at Tottenham despite talk by some sections of the media that he could walk if he doesn’t get things his way in the January market, as he told the All to Play For Podcast.
The former Premier League winner shared that he spoke with Conte after Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea over the weekend and he got the vibes that he is in north London for the long run.
For the fourth time this season, and the third time under Conte, Spurs were on the end of a defeat to Thomas Tuchel’s men.
As Conte has pointed out himself on many occasions, those games have proven that there is a gulf in quality between both sides.
That was touched upon by Cole and how he thinks, going by his talk with Conte, that the Italian is here to stay, but he fired a warning to Daniel Levy along the way.
“Spurs are absolutely miles off it (against Chelsea),” said Cole. “I asked Conte ‘that’s three times they have lost to Chelsea’ and I said ‘are you hoping to do business now or in the summer?’
“He immediately, like a good manager, he took control of the interview and he said ‘listen, this is a three-year project’. He said ‘I am happy with my players. They fought so hard, but you can see the difference’.
“I thought he was brilliant and honest. By saying that, he is almost saying to Daniel Levy, ‘come on, what can I do with these players?’
“From that, it suggests, to me, he is staying as long as Daniel Levy shows him the money.”
The fear and worry Tottenham fans have is Levy not backing Conte in the manner in which he should.
It was perhaps a mistake the Spurs chairman made when Mauricio Pochettino was at the club because, for what he produced, he wasn’t rewarded for that work in the market.
It’s obvious that a large chunk of Tottenham’s business, both ins and outs, will be concluded during the summer transfer window.
But with no one yet to join this month, they still need some freshness, bite and added quality in their quest to finish in the Champions League places.
It’s not a case of going transfer crazy, but just helping out Conte a little for this second half of the campaign.
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