Last season ended in the best possible way for Tottenham Hotspur. After a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, Tottenham only lost one of their final eleven games. This helped Antonio Conte’s men secure Champions League football for next season. Securing top-4 has allowed Conte to be aggressive in the transfer window. Tottenham is now ready to challenge for trophies.
Improved Tottenham Ready To Challenge For Trophies
Strength In Depth Now Means Tottenham Hotspur Can Challenge
Antonio Conte made it clear last season that Tottenham would need to strengthen to challenge for trophies. Spurs’ lack of depth in the first half of last season meant they were knocked out of the UEFA Europa Conference League in the group stage. The additions of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski helped this issue and overall last season was a success.
Further additions this summer including Richarlison and Ivan Perisic mean Tottenham has depth and quality upfront only matched by Liverpool and Manchester City. The signing of Yves Bissouma gives Spurs more quality in a midfield that was lacking it. Antonio Conte’s men now have 8 midfielders for 2 positions and Harry Winks and Giovanni Lo Celso may leave the club soon. In defense, the loan signing of Clement Lenglet gives Spurs six capable centre-backs, which is what Conte needs for his three-at-the-back system. The rumored signing of Djed Spence will give Tottenham the depth they need at wing-back to compete on all four fronts this season.
Conte Turning Heung-Min Son Into a Superstar
Before last season, Heung-Min Son was already known as a top player, but Conte’s arrival has turned him into a superstar. Son shared the Premier League golden boot with Mo Salah last season and his 23 goals were six more than teammate Harry Kane managed. It was also six more than Son’s next best effort, 17 goals in 2020/21.
When Conte took over Spurs in early November, Son had only 4 Premier League goals to his name. 19 goals in the 26 games that followed forced the media to recognize Son as one of the Premier League’s best players. Son is now considered in the same bracket as Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, and Harry Kane in the divisions elite. The next step for Son is to repeat the feat. Mo Salah has scored 20 goals in four of his five seasons at Liverpool and it’s this kind of consistency Son needs if Spurs are going to challenge for the big prizes.
Similarities To Conte’s Chelsea
With Conte back in England, it’s only natural to look for similarities between his current Tottenham squad and his 2016/17 title-winning Chelsea side. The teams play the same 3-4-3 formation and both have a star striker and winger leading the way. That Chelsea side had Diego Costa and Eden Hazard while this Tottenham side has Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane.
The midfield duo of Ngolo Kante and Nemanja Matic was one of the best partnerships the Premier League has seen. Tottenham’s duo of Bentancur and Bissouma doesn’t have the same reputation yet but they are both still 25 and with a bit of coaching Conte could have another world-class midfield duo at his disposal.
Keeping in mind that Spurs has not won a major trophy since the 2007-08 season, now is the time for the North London side to change that. With the additions made by Conte, along with the quality of the squad, the Italian will have little excuses for failing to capture silverware at this point. Add to that a return to the UEFA Champions League, and things are starting to go in the right direction at Spurs in their quest to finally lift a trophy once again.