Harry Winks seems to have saved his Tottenham career.
The midfielder, who was leaving the club under previous boss Nuno Espirito Santo, has been hailed as Mr Reliable by new gaffer Antonio Conte, who insisted the rejuvenated star will now remain at N17.
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But Spurs chief Tangi was not so excited about Ndombele.
When asked at the press conference what role he sees as the Frenchman in his team, Conte replied bluntly: “He is a midfielder. I think… he’s a midfielder.”
Ouch! The record was another setback for the £65million buyout of Ndombele, which has been rarely seen since Conte’s arrival nearly two months ago.
He could do it by taking a leaf out of Winks’ book.
The domestic academy product has come from a cold to become one of Tottenham’s leading men in recent matches.
Conte said: “Vinci is playing well. And Winks has shown to be a reliable player. And that’s why Vinci will be here.
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“I find players who are reliable, and then I can trust them and Vinci showed me that I can trust them.”
Conte’s comments clearly showed that he doesn’t think he can trust Nombele.
The Italian said last month the former Lyon player will have to learn how to be a team player.
Asked if Nombele is working on it, Conte said: “I pay equal attention to all my players. I pay a lot of attention to every single player every single session.
“My concentration is not just for 12 or 13 or 14 players, but for the whole team. And then, there are players who understand very well, while other players require more time or have difficulty understanding certain situations.”
Tottenham travel to Watford on Saturday without the injured Christian Romero, Ryan Sessegon, Giovanni Lo Celso and Steven Bergwijn.
But striker Harry Kane will again lead the line as he looks to the net for a fourth consecutive Premier League game.
Conte said: “Harry is in good form and you can see he is playing very well. He is available to play against Watford.
“Also because three to four days after the last game against Southampton we have time to recover, rest, do training sessions and get ready to play against Watford.”
Keeper Hugo Lloris, whose contract expires in the summer, will be allowed to sign a pre-contract deal with a foreign club when the transfer window reopens later this week.
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But Conte believes the France captain wants to stay at Spurs and will sign a new deal with them.
Conte added: “Of course, he will talk with the club to try to find a solution.
“Do I believe he wants to stay?
“I think so, I think so. I think Hugo wants to be at this club, he loves this club, he lives well at Tottenham. I think it might be his opinion.”
