Tim Sherwood has claimed that if he was Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis then he wouldn’t let Antonio Conte spend any more money at the club until he signs a new contract, as he told Premier League Productions (24/10/22 at 2:15 pm).
This comes after Tottenham Hotspur were beaten by Newcastle United on Sunday – their second defeat in as many days – with Conte, once again, hinting towards money needing to be spent in order to bulk up the squad.
In the summer, the Italian was backed by those in the Spurs boardroom, including the club breaking their transfer record on Richarlison from Everton.
What was significant about the Richarlison transfer was that. when he first arrived, he wasn’t an instant first-team starter, but a squad player.
Well, after a couple of injuries to players, including Richarlison from the weekend, Spurs had to dig deep into their squad ahead of the visit of Newcastle, but they were outclassed by Eddie Howe’s men.
It prompted Conte to once again talk about investment being needed for his squad again, but Sherwood made it clear, until he signs the contract, then he won’t be getting anything.
“I believe Antonio Conte has got the passion, drive and commitment that the club needed,” said Sherwood. “But I do think they need to sort out his contract issue.
“He’s talking about that it’s the project. We need patience, we need time and we need money. All of this is not good noise coming out of there. The reason it’s not good noise is because he only has a contract until the end of the season.
“If you want to go through with the project, then you need to extend your contract. Then perhaps Kane and Son will commit their futures to the club.
“If I am the owner, at the moment, then I am not letting him spend any more money until he commits himself to the club. You could end up buying players for another manager who comes in with different ideas, so it’s a crossroad period for Tottenham.”
CONTE HAS BEEN BACKED
The issue here is that, for Tottenham to beat Newcastle, they don’t need to go and splash another £80 odd million on players.
Yes, Eddie Howe’s side have spent, but they were relegation fodder prior to their recent spending.
Plus, just like Burnley last season, the group of players that were out on the pitch on Sunday should still be beating the Magpies, even if Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski were out of action.
This can’t be a situation where every time Spurs lose, Conte points towards a lack of depth and perhaps more money needing to be spent.
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