Conte reveals best Bentancur position as star primed for first start; answers Tottenham ‘leadership’ question
Antonio Conte has revealed where he thinks new signing Rodrigo Bentancur’s best position is, with the Uruguay star set for his first start in a Tottenham shirt.
Bentancur put in an eye-catching second-half display when he came on to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, despite Spurs losing 3-2 late on to Southampton in north London on Wednesday evening.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Wolves, Conte said of the midfielder: “He can play, I think the best position for him is to play with two midfielders but sometimes with the national team and also with Juventus, he also played in a three but in my mind the perfect suit for him is to play with two midfielders.”
As for whether Bentancur or fellow new boy Dejan Kulusevski will actually start, Conte added: “For sure this could be a possibility. We have another day of training to make our decision. They are working with the team and I prefer to wait until tomorrow to make the decision on the starting XI.”
One player who will not be fit to face Wolves, however, is Eric Dier. The England defender has been struggling with a recurring thigh injury, although Conte hopes he could return against Manchester City.
Conte added: “Unfortunately he’s not fit. For sure he’s a big loss for us. He needs a bit more time to recover.
“I don’t know, I hope he will be available for the next game against Man City.”
Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga also remain on the sidelines for the must-win clash.
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Conte admits leadership issue
Conte was also asked if he has enough leaders at the club after their midweek collapse against Southampton.
The Italian, after a long pause, responded: “For us, when I speak about the process, and I include this type of situation.
“During the game there are different phases, different parts of the game. You need to have experience to manage, to understand when you have to risk something or, when you have to keep the result in the best possible way. There are moments you have to manage very well, especially after we scored.
“After we scored, every time we quickly conceded a chance to our opponent. In this way, you give courage to your opponent.
“When you score, its the moment to be strong, be compact, don’t lose patience, don’t lose focus. This is very important. But it’s a process for a team that wants to become an important team.
“We’ve just started. This process will be long. But at the same time, in every moment you have to find the time to improve, to analyse the situation that penalised us in the past. We conceded three goals in the same way and for this reason we’re working to try to improve this situation.
“It’s part of the process and unfortunately we need time to be ready to face the situation in the maximum level. We need to take the step.”
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