Three Tottenham players with a pre-season point to prove

There are many players at Tottenham who are going to be trying to impress in their first camp with Conte. While Skipp will want to show he is again fit and ready for the rigours of a Conte central midfielder, others have different points to prove. Here are two more with separate statements to make.

Can Ndombele earn a second look from Spurs or someone?

When he was initially signed, he was going to be the midfielder who took Tottenham to the next level; and In his debut, he scored a goal, hardly celebrating, seemingly urging his team on for more. Unfortunately, for Tanguy Ndombele, there have been many more lows than highs at N17.

Ndombele has struggled for different reasons under different managers, although most observers would ultimately point to the Frenchman’s desire. Just dripping with skill and class with the ball, Tanguy has struggled to demonstrate the drive and determination required to run box-to-box in the Premier League.

That said, unless the rumours are being kept very confidential, there has been little genuine interest in Ndombele in the transfer market. There was one report he could go to Turkey, but that left as quickly as it came.

Whether it impresses Antonio Conte or someone else enough to buy him, Ndombele has to show he wants to be a footballer. Ndombele is under contract until 2025, but his future is far from certain; a strong pre-season could help clarify the outlook.

Is Winks going to remain at Tottenham Hotspur?

Going into the summer, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Harry Winks would be moving on from N17. However, halfway through the summer window, Winks is still part of the team, and the stories about his exit have been relatively few and far between.

Now that pre-season is at hand; Winks has been featured in a couple of the video tweets from the club. Those clips mean little to Conte but demonstrate that Winks, like Ndombele, is ready to fight to the last. Or at least show up to get their paychecks.

One significant advantage that Winks has over Tanguy is his homegrown status, which certainly helps Spurs from a numbers perspective.

Not a perfect midfielder for Conte’s system; the gaffer trusts Winks, using him at big moments late in matches last season while Ndombele was out on loan.

It is still very likely that one of Winks or Ndombele, if not both, are sold before the window shuts, but until then, for their futures, whether at Spurs or elsewhere, they – like Skipp – have a point to prove.