Creating two Tottenham Hotspur XIs under Antonio Conte

Tottenham top XI under Conte

For starters, we have to assume that Harry Kane is going to come back to form and lead the line under Conte. If Kane does not, Conte will not hesitate to put the talisman on the bench and identify someone that will do the work he is looking for. The hope for all of Tottenham, inside and outside the building, is that Conte can spark that something in Kane and get him firing on all cylinders again. So what does the team around Kane look like?

For the top line at Tottenham, for now, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, and Davinson Sanchez are penciled in as the back three. I say penciled in because neither Sanchez nor Dier has their positions on lockdown. Romero was seemingly born to play in a back three, however, it will take some adjustment for Dier and Sanchez who back are quite capable. Those three are of course in front of Hugo Lloris.

In the midfield, I would anticipate it being Oliver Skipp who sits deepest with the first team, not Pierre Hojbjerg. Hojbjerg will be more effective for the team in one of the more advanced central midfield roles ala N’golo Kante. Allowing one of your best defenders to press and pressure further up the pitch should benefit the team. As should having Tanguy Ndombele next to Hojbjerg creating a dynamic dribbling and defensive attacking force.

The two wing-backs are of course Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal. Both Reguilon and Royal excelled in similar positions on loan in La Liga and are both more attack-minded than defensive making the wing-back position perfect for them both.

Up top, Tottenham of course has Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane leading the line together. Having a partner with Kane should help. Having some new runs and new patterns should help both Son and Kane who has been kind of stale this season.

While the players are not all that different than those under Santo, having a different shape, roles, and some new direction should really help. So who will this XI face in practice?