Tottenham’s new signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have begun life in north London with their first training sessions at the club.
The pair arrived from Juventus on deadline day, becoming the first arrivals of the Antonio Conte era, and Spurs will hope they can help the club push on towards a top-four finish this season.
Kulusevski started training with his new teammates on Thursday, earlier than Bentancur who was on international duty earlier this week playing for Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.
Conte has played down expectations of the signings coming straight into the side for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash against Brighton, though hinted they could play a role off the bench.
“The two players are fit and for this reason tomorrow they are available for sure,” Conte said at his pre-Brighton press conference on Friday.
“To start the game I think is not right because they need to work with the team for a period.
“For sure they can come in because I repeat, these two players can help us a lot.”
It was no secret that Tottenham wanted to add a right wing-back to their squad in the January window, failing in their attempts to bring Adama Traore to north London and use him in that position.
But while Kulusevski on paper is more of an attacking option, Conte has not ruled out using the 21-year-old as a wing-back should the opportunity present itself.
“About Kulusevski, he is a good player, he’s very young. I think he’s a great talent,” Conte said.
“He can play like a number 10 if you want to play with two players behind the striker.
“At the same time, he has the potential to play also as a wing-back on the right. He has good quality.
“He likes to attack, he’s good in one vs ones, to create chances for his team-mates. I think he’s a good signing for us.”
Conte had an impressive record in the FA Cup as Chelsea manager.
He reached the final in both of his two seasons in charge at Stamford Bridge, losing to Arsenal in 2017 before beating Man United the following year.
Tottenham lost in the semi-finals in both of the seasons, and have not been to the final since lifting the trophy in 1991.
