On October 30, Spurs looked a broken unit. Having been battered by a struggling United side, there seemed to be no way back for the North London outfit. The appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo had turned out to be a bad decision & now Daniel Levy was tasked with the mammoth task of appointing a manager who could come in stabilize a wretched ship. Having previously rejected the idea of joining Spurs, it seemed a distant dream for Levy to convince the Italian stalwart Antonio Conte to join the club.
The newly appointed Spurs Director of Football Fabio Paratici wanted to appoint Conte as manager during the summer, but financial disagreements meant that the Italian, even though he was willing to take up the job, refused the offer. After sacking Nuno, the Spurs hierarchy quickly realized that Conte was the only top manager who was available & acted quickly to acquire the services of the Italian. Let us look at how Spurs have changed under Conte & whether signing Franck Kessie from AC Milan will be worth it.
Conte’s tactical setup at Spurs
It’s safe to say that Antonio Conte has mastered the art of playing with a Back 3 in defence. The Italian sets up his Spurs side in a 3-5-2 formation & plays a pragmatic style of football. His teams usually prioritize defensive stability over fast, free-flowing attacking football. But this certainly does not mean that his team lack the cutting edge in the final third. Conte’s players press the opposition with full intensity with the forwards initiating the press & the midfielders joining in to force turnovers from the opposition. As soon as they win the ball back, his team are lethal on the break, terrorizing defences with their quick-minded interplay to create a goal-scoring opportunity. Although it’s still early days for Conte at Spurs, he’ll look to integrate these qualities within his team ASAP.
The key to his defensive stability are 3 ball playing Centre backs and 2 wingbacks who form a solid Back 5 while defending. Under Conte’s setup, the Centrebacks must have the ability to sustain the opposition press, linking up with the midfield & threading wrecking long balls into the channels for forwards to chase upon. Most of the Italian’s units focus on attacking through the wide areas, creating overlaps for the wingbacks or the midfields to create an opening. The midfield 3 include 1 deep-lying destroyer with 2 box to box midfielders. The box to box players are tasked with pressing the middle of the park with full intensity, winning the ball back & creating overloads in the wide areas to create overlaps beyond the opposition defence. This is where Kessie could prove to be a game-changer for Spurs.
Who is Franck Kessie?
Franck Kessie is a 25-year-old central midfielder, hailing from Ivory Coast in Africa who currently plays for AC Milan. Kessie started his professional football career at Atalanta in Serie A. Initially he had to deal with limited playing time, as a result of which he moved to Serie B side Cesena on loan in 2015. A year later, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini promoted him to the first team having been impressed with his performances in Serie B. Initially Gasperini held the Ivorian back & used him as a substitute but his exploits on the field meant that he was promoted to the starting eleven & became their Midfield general. In the 2016-17 season, Kessie made 30 appearances for the First team and scored 7 goals in the meantime.
After impressing in his debut Serie A season for Atalanta, Kessie joined AC Milan in the summer of 2017. His move was a 2 year loan deal with an obligation to buy the player. The Ivorian immediately turned into a fan favourite at the San Siro, even scoring a penalty in his debut against Crotone in Serie A. Till now, Kessie has made 159 appearance for the Rossoneri, scoring on 34 occasions and cementing his status as a key player for Milan. With his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2022, it seems that the Ivorian will soon be on the move & with Spurs seemingly leading the race, let us look at how he fits into Conte’s system.
How Kessie fits the bill for Spurs
Conte plays with 3 midfielders in his team but the problem at Spurs is the lack of versatile midfielders who could play in numerous positions. Hojbjerg, Winks, Skipp are the primary defensive minded midfielders at Spurs but, none of them have the defensive discipline to dictate & control the tempo in the midfield. Ndombele is a midfielder whose Spurs journey has been a bumpy ride & Lo Celso’s consistency is something that cannot be relied upon.
Kessie might be able to provide a solution for Conte’s midfield conundrum. He has the ability of playing as a deep-lying Number 6, taking the ball of the defenders & playing out from the back. His tenacity & aggression can be used to good effect as Conte demands high levels of intensity from his midfielders. Kessie’s passing range is something worth mentioning as his immaculate ability to spread the play in all directions, even threading long balls towards the Strikers (Kane & Son) in behind the defensive line can terrorize the opposition. His ability to play as a Number 6 is accompanied by his ability to adapt to a box to box role where he can even chip in with his killer instincts in the final third. Overall, if Spurs are able to acquire the services of the Ivorian then it’ll allow the likes of Hojbjerg, Lo Celso & other attack-minded midfielders to play with a bit more freedom without having to worry about the defense.
Denouement:
Kessie’s contract expires in the summer and in January he’ll be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club. Although Manchester United have been touted as a possible destination for the 25 year old Ivorian, it seems that Spurs have jumped the queue, even willing to offer a transfer fee in January to get their man. Although Milan are still hoping that Kessie will commit to the Rossoneri as the club’s performances have significantly improved over the past couple of seasons & helped them join the title frame. If this doesn’t happen, then the best option for the San Siro outfit might be to sell him in January and avoid losing him on a free. It’ll be interesting to keep track of the situation around Kessie and with Spurs seemingly the only realistic option, it might not be long before the Ivorian steps foot into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
MUST READ:
– The ups & downs of Giovani Lo Celso’s career at Spurs
– Tottenham Hotspur publish financial results: Where does it leave Antonio Conte and his transfer plans?