‘I was blown away by him’: Hargreaves shares he paid a visit to Tottenham’s training ground

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Owen Hargreaves has shared that he was ‘blown away’ by Antonio Conte after he paid a visit to Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground.

The former England international shared that he was doing an interview with Conte and he told the Italian that Tottenham are going to be a ‘threat’ this season, as he told Premier League Productions.

Ever since Conte walked through the doors at Hotspur Way, he has helped transform a club that previously saw its manager being booed for substituting Lucas Moura during a game against Manchester United.

The mood, feeling and hope around that time was pretty low, with fans also protesting against the club’s marmite-like chairman, Daniel Levy.

But fast forward to the present and everything has changed for the better, with Spurs now being tipped to break the Premier League’s top two – Manchester City and Liverpool.

Tottenham weren’t the third best team last season, but under Conte, Hargreaves now thinks they are now already there, as he feels they will cause ‘problems’.

“I did an interview with him at Tottenham’s training ground and I was blown away by him,” said Hargreaves. “I really came away from that interview thinking ‘these guys are going to be a threat’.

“The last thing I said to him (Conte) was ‘you are going to be a threat to the big teams’. They play differently to Manchester City and Liverpool.  

“But with his philosophy, mentality, the ability to break up play, the intensity, Kane, Son and Kulusesvki. And now you are bringing in Richarlison. They bring in Bissouma, who is more athletic and dynamic.

“Then these guys are going to be a problem for everyone. I think right now, on paper, they are the third best team on paper.”

BRIGHT START FOR TOTTENHAM

Tottenham were behind pretty early against Southampton over the weekend, and in previous years, they might have struggled to break teams down and come away with three points.

But rather than drag themselves over the line, the response from Spurs was emphatic and what you would expect from a Conte team.

By the time they could go into the break, it was the home team with the lead, before Conte watched his players blow Southampton away by scoring four goals during the game.

Given all the hype around the north London club heading into the new season, this was a great marker that has been put down, but as the fans will know too well, there is still a long, long way to go.