Antonio Conte has admitted that he is "seeing a lot of desire" from new Tottenham signing Djed Spence. Joining from Middlesbrough after excelling on loan at Nottingham Forest last campaign, the right wing-back has only made the matchday squad in the league once since his summer switch.
Not included in the matchday 20 in the past two games, the England Under-21s international will be hoping he is selected this weekend when the Lilywhites take on his former loan club at the City Ground. With Spurs fans desperate to see Spence in action for the very first time, Conte has issued an update on his new player ahead of the Forest game.
"I was very clear at the start when I said this signing is a really good prospect, he’s a young player. This signing, the club wanted to invest in this player," explained the Italian ahead of the Nottingham Forest encounter. "The difference is clear. To play in the Championship with Nottingham Forest and then with Tottenham, he needs time to adapt himself in many aspects, in the physical aspect and the tactical aspect because now he is working with another coach.
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"I’m seeing a lot of desire, a lot of will, from this player to try to reduce this gap and to be ready. With a young player, it’s important to have patience, to work and then to improve. I’m sure Djed for the future will be an important player for Tottenham."
One player who has been extremely important for the Lilywhites in recent years is Son Heung-min. The attacker has started in all three Premier League games this term but he has yet to find the back of the net.
Scoring for fun last campaign as he won the Premier League Golden Boot, one goal may be all the player needs to go on another impressive scoring streak. With Son's form a big talking point at present, Conte has admitted that he is not worried one bit about the South Korean's dry run in front of goal.
"No. I’m seeing the same player that I knew in November when I arrived in Tottenham. A good guy who has a great commitment and a great attitude. But if we have seven points and you are complaining about Sonny and when he is good, I think we can do good things," said Conte.
"We have to try to understand and decide you want to see the situation, you understand? For me, Sonny is playing a good game. He’s not scoring, but it can happen. It happened last season with Harry Kane. Now Harry has scored twice and we are happy. It’s the same for Sonny and for the other strikers.
"The most important thing is the team and that the team is going to win. I understand that personal achievements are important but the team, the club is more important than me, than everybody."
He added: "Sonny is enjoying his football every day. To think he is enjoying it more or less just because of one goal, it is ridiculous. We are trying to create a problem when the problem is not there. I am not worried, and if anybody is going to be worried, it is going to be the coach. It’s you lot who are worried."
So is the player himself worried?
"He is working well and in my opinion he is playing a good game. He has to continue to play that way," said the 53-year-old. "When he finds the goal, he is going to score and the situation will return to normal for everybody. But I am really surprised to be speaking about Sonny in a press conference."
While Son has been unusually quiet in the final third going on his incredibly high standards, Kane has scored crucial goals in Tottenham's last two games against Chelsea and Wolves. Delivering some towering performances during his time working with Conte, the Spurs boss has revealed that he is seeing an improvement in the striker's game.
"We are talking about a world-class striker and this is clear and I don't discover this. For sure I’m seeing Harry who is improving in many aspects of his game," admitted the former Juventus player. "We know very well with his skill and ability on the ball and now he is becoming strong on set pieces and how to attack the box in a strong way that we like for a No.9.
"I am seeing an improvement in this aspect because with Harry - all the people know that he can be a No.9 or a No.10. Sometimes too many people think he is more of a No.10 than a No.9 but now I think that he is a strong number nine.
"He was a strong No.10 before now he is strong No.9. He is improving a lot in many aspects of his game."
Very rarely rested by his previous Tottenham managers as he guarantees goals and assists, Conte is well aware that he will have to drop Spurs' No.10 down to the bench over the coming months. Set to start an intense schedule with games every few days with the Champions League getting underway at the beginning of next month, there is simply no way that the 29-year-old can remain in starting XI every game.
"It’s important to underline that this season we have just started with me and last season I arrived in Tottenham in November and the competition was completely different because the Conference League is totally different, the Champions League now is another story," said Conte. "The situation is different to the past. There is a World Cup in November and now in 23 or 24 days we have seven games. It’s crazy to think we can put always the same players.
"In this transfer market our target was to improve the squad, also because we know very well we have to face four competitions so to have the possibility to make rotations without dropping the level is important. Now we start to play games every three days, now you understand if a team is strong or not.
"To play every seven days is easy for every club. You rest, slight injuries can recover, and then you play with the same players. But now, with Champions League and Premier League, you understand the quality and the depth of the squad. And now you can make a judgement, not before."
Pressed on if he will definitely have to rest Kane, he added: "I repeat, we are talking about a situation that we have to start to face - on Sunday we have to play seven games every three days. After every game I will have to check the situation with all of the players for tiredness and injuries.
"And one player will not be able to play in all seven games - it is impossible. I am not a magician! I cannot forecast this, but we go game by game to make the best decisions for the team and for the players."
One player who could benefit from Kane having a breather is new signing Richarlison. The Brazilian has made a big impact when he has been called upon so far and Conte has stated that the forward is now ready to go into his team.
"It’s positive for me to have players early because we can work with the new players and bring these players into our ideas," he explained. "Richarlison, Clement Lenglet, Bissouma, Perisic - they are ready to go into the team and to play. We will do it because it would be crazy to think we can play the same team every game in 23 days with the same team."
He added: "We have just started the season and it was impossible for these players to have more minutes. Now we start the season and for sure every single player has to play. I think it was really good for me to have these players early because in this way we work together to adapt themselves in the tactical and physical aspect.
"Sometimes I am really surprised when I see players who sign the day before and the day later they play because when there is organisation, or a tactically idea to sign a player the day before and a day later he plays? Yeah it is difficult for the player to go into an idea, if there is an idea of football."
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