New Tottenham signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur are available to make their respective debuts in the FA Cup tie against Brighton this weekend.
However, manager Antonio Conte has insisted it is too soon for the duo - who both officially signed for Spurs from Serie A giants Juventus on deadline day - to start Saturday evening’s all-Premier League fourth-round clash in north London.
Swedish winger Kulusevski was able to begin training at Hotspur Way on Thursday after being granted a work permit, while Bentancur’s arrival was later due to his involvement in Uruguay’s World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday night, in which he scored.
“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.”
Conte highlighted Kulusevski’s versatility, insisting the loanee can also feature as a No10 in the right system or even as a right wing-back, a problem area that Spurs wanted to address in January.
Tottenham had tried to sign Adama Traore with a view to converting him into a wing-back as Conte did with Victor Moses at Chelsea, but the Spaniard eventually opted to join Barcelona.
“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.”
While it was a difficult transfer window for Tottenham, Conte believes that Kulusevski and Bentancur - aged 21 and 24 respectively - are great options both now and for the future and a perfect fit for the club’s philosophy moving forward.
He also backed the decision to allow the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil to leave Spurs on loan for more game time.
“I think these two players are the right prospect for Tottenham’s philosophy, young players to develop and improve,” Conte said. “I make them important players for the future but you know very well you need time to do this. But I think for the philosophy of Tottenham, these are two good signings for us.
“About the players that went on loan, they need to play more games. I think it was right for both sides, the club and the players. These players needed to play more games.”
