Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has praised Richarlison for bringing a ‘focused, nasty’ side to his north London outfit as his players prepare to take on Wolves on Saturday lunchtime to continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League.
The Italian’s side escaped defeat in the most heated of circumstances as Harry Kane headed home a 96th-minute equaliser at Chelsea on Sunday in a game which has seen Conte and Thomas Tuchel both pick up fines, with the latter receiving a one-game ban for his aggressive nature.
The Lilywhites take on Wolves on Saturday lunchtime in a bid to go top of the league – albeit temporarily – as they aim to secure yet another Champions League spot and embark on a potential Premier League title challenges.
And ahead of the tie, Conte has sung the praises of Richarlison to the press, claiming that players of his mentality are going to be crucial going into the new season.
“For sure Richy [Richarlison] is a player that made us focused, nasty. He’s a player I like. He’s always into the training session with his mind. For us I think this is a good sign,” said Conte as portayed by Football London.
“We are working also on the tactical aspect because the season will be long and there are many games that we have to play also with four strikers.”
Conte has added well to his squad depth this summer with six new signings, and looks poised to make more ahead of a long, gruelling campaign.
And whilst there are still teething problems, he is impressed with what he has seen so far.
“In the end at Chelsea, we played with Lucas Moura as wing-back, Perisic – we are talking about in the past a striker, Richarlison, Kulusevski, Sonny, but to do this, it’s important to have organisation in the tactical aspect. The problem could be for the others (the opposition) when you have the ball, but without the ball also we must not lose the balance. The second goal we conceded against Chelsea, I think that we lost a bit of balance,” Conte added.
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“We have to try to improve because for me to play with four strikers can become a good option during the game and to start some games. The most important thing is that the four strikers want to run and to make sacrifices without the ball. This is very important, but I have players with good stamina, with good quality and we are working also on this aspect.”