Antonio Conte: Chelsea boss questions Tottenham's ambitions
Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has questioned Tottenham's ambition, suggesting they have lower expectations than their Premier League title rivals.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy this week defended a lack of signings and railed against "unsustainable" spending.
They were runners up to Chelsea in the Premier League last term, faltered in the Champions League group stages, and again in the Europa League last 32.
"If [Spurs] don't win the title, it's not a tragedy," said Conte.
"If they don't arrive in the Champions League, it's not a tragedy. If they go out in the first round of the Champions League, it's not a tragedy. If they go out after the first game that they play in the Europa League, it's not a tragedy.
"Maybe for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and - I don't know - Liverpool, it is a tragedy. You must understand the status of the team.
"Every team has to understand what their ambitions are. If their ambitions are to fight for the title or win the Champions League, you must buy expensive players. Otherwise you continue to stay in your level. It's simple."
"My question is this: What are Tottenham's expectations?"
Spurs waiting to make their move?
After finishing second in the Premier League last season, Spurs have not added to their squad over the summer.
Their only transfer activity has been selling England right-back Kyle Walker to rivals Manchester City for £45m.
"We have a duty to manage the club appropriately," Levy said.
Recent history suggests it may be a while before Levy makes his move, with the majority of Spurs' incoming deals finalised in August in the past few seasons.
Last August, they paid Newcastle £30m for midfielder Moussa Sissoko in the final few hours of the window, having signed £9m winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and loan goalkeeper Pau Lopez earlier in the day.
In previous seasons, forward Son Heung-min (£22m), midfielder Erik Lamela (£25.7m), goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (£11.8m) and forward Clint Dempsey (£6m) all joined the club in the closing days and hours of transfer windows.
'Chelsea tried to buy Walker'
More than £850m has been spent by Premier League sides so far in the summer transfer window, which closes on 31 August, with accountancy firm Deloitte predicting top-flight clubs will surpass the record £1.165bn they spent last summer.
Chelsea have parted with about £130m for three players - forward Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco and defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma.
Conte revealed Chelsea "tried to buy" Walker and acknowledged that the market is currently "very difficult", adding: "I think now every single player is expensive."
'Kane is one of the best in the world'
Conte also said Spurs and England striker Harry Kane would be his first pick if he could sign any forward. Kane has finished as the Premier League's top goalscorer for the past two seasons.
"Tottenham is a really good squad if they are able to keep all the players," Conte said. "For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world.
"If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane. He is a complete striker. He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he's strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left.
"If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100m."
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Pochettino who has committed to spurs academy and the club for the long term, and kept quiet about himself.
I'm not a spurs fan but conte should shut up and appreciate a manager investing in British youth rather than passing through grabbing British cash for himself.
Mr Levy doesn't need to spend hundreds of millions to create a good team as he already has an excellent one.
£75m for Lukaku or £0 for Harry Kane?
£89m for Pogba or £5m for Dele Alli?
Levy does things the right way.
Thanks for your input though Conte.
Hope Morata hasn't learnt English yet!
If Tottenham make zero signings and replicate last season with top 4 and a good cup/european run by using academy players, it would be a huge success for home grown football. I imagine Spurs fans, England fans, and most neutrals would enjoy it immensely.
But there wouldn't be any titles to show for it, that's all Conte's saying.
Need I cast your mind back to our previous chairman? THAT was someone with a lack of ambition.
As for Conte, it's easy to say "you must buy expensive players" when you have a billionaire Russian bankrolling you, without said Russian, Chelsea would likely not have won any of their Premier League titles, much less a Champions League, ditto for "Mid Table" City.
Spurs and Chelsea fans favour different things - A connection to the club and winning trophies respectively. Both with pros and cons, both sets of fans accept this, and that's fine.
City - mega rich owners who'll do all they can to cheat FFP through related sponsor deals.
Chelsea - similar to City but FFP didn't arrive in time to hit them hard enough.
United - world record profits and support with a manageable owners debt.
Arsenal, Spurs & Liverpool - cannot match the above 3 financially.
Levy is probably just talking down his appetite for players to try to avoid overpaying.
But 16m for Hernandez proves it's possible to get value without any silly games. Levy - pls take note!!