JP: "He's on record as saying he wants Champions League football which must mean Spurs and Conte."RC: You can see why Spurs would appeal to CE, but I've never been persuaded that he is tailor-made for Spurs/Conte.It's not a lack of ability (obv). Nor is it anything personal, as Conte showed by picking him consistently during the second half of their title-winning season at Inter.But I suspect that it was a lack of options (injuries?) which caused Conte to recall him to the Inter team after Xmas .For Conte is absolutely rigid in his preference for 3-4-3 formation. And when one or both of his Wingbacks are joining in the attack, often on the counter, that means Spurs have four, or even five players committed to attack.Which means the two central midfielders MUST be defenvively minded i.e. a No.6. And while CE is good enough to fill in in that role (very athletic, covers a huge amount of ground), it's not his best position, which is as a No.8 or even a No.10.Which was why I said yesterday that it was maybe only 50/50 he would end up at Spurs.But with this morning's news that Spurs have spent £30m on Bissouma, a 24 y.o. central midfielder from Brighton, I now feel it much less likely CE will go to Spurs, since if they might be still interested in him as a free transfer, he's not likely to be a regular starter in the big games, incl Champions League (imo).And considering there's been speculation but not much else concerning other clubs, I now think it's "Advantage Brentford".
Richard Cathcart ● 1560d