‘It means the club now doesn’t want me to speak to Italian media’
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has insisted that he is ‘disturbed’ by the fall-out from a recent interview, where he appeared to indicate that he was unhappy with Spurs’ transfer business in January.
Conte missed out on a number of key targets last month, despite adding Juventus duo Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur to Spurs’ ranks.
The north London outfit also let four players leave the club, with Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele all leaving on loan, while Dele Alli joined Everton on a permanent deal.
In a recent interview with Sky Italia, Conte claimed that his squad had become ‘technically weaker’ since the transfer window.
The Italian also suggested that his view on ideal signings differed from the club’s philosophy – with Levy seemingly preferring to sign young talent, whereas Conte demands experienced stars.
Speaking at his press conference on Friday before Spurs’ trip to face Manchester City on Saturday, Conte claimed he was ‘disturbed’ by the way the interview had been received.
🗣 "I was a bit disturbed by this type of situation. It means from now, don't speak with the Italian media because the translation is not so clear."
Antonio Conte says that the media are always trying to create problems between Tottenham managers and the club pic.twitter.com/ajLkpqgmDp
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 18, 2022
“During the interview after the transfer market they asked me about the club and if I’m happy,” he explained.
“I said the club did the best can do.
“We lost four players, important players for Tottenham. These players we sent away on loan cost a lot of money.
“Numerically you could be a bit weaker.
“Then I said with Kulusevski and Bentancur we are more complete.
“I don’t understand why someone want to create a problem between me [and Levy].
“Also, in the past [there have been] a lot of stories between the chairman and the club. He knows my thoughts.
“It’s not important for me to go to the media. I can speak to him.”
The Italian also claims that he will not do any more interview in Italian out of fear of mistranslations leading to a similar reaction.
Conte added: “Sorry but I was a bit disturbed by this situation, especially because I had an interview with the Italian media.
“It means the club now doesn’t want me to speak to Italian media because the translation was not so clear with my thoughts.”
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