Tottenham Talk on Saturday
A happy environment aids regular success and it is good that we are now paying closer attention to mentality, to personality, as under pressure both positive and negative traits can come to the fore.
You look to maximise those who react in a positive way and minimise those who react in a negative way.
Human nature isn't something that is easy to change, unless there is a genuine and deep seated desire to do so, there won't be any change.
How a player react to adversity is more important that how they react to success, it tells you so much more, everyone can play in a winning team and perform, given they have the requisite skill standard.
As usual, our fans want something to complain about, it wouldn't do for them to have happy lives now would it.
I see criticisms that we have announced this cash injection now and not after the transfer window.
Well, fans and press for that matter, are always talking about statement signings, which in reality is fiction, but announcing this injection IS a proper statement of intent to players and agents.
It is Tottenham saying to them we are serious, it's time to take us seriously.
Ask yourself this, because our dumb reporters haven't, if there was a possibility of Conte leaving, would the club announce they have money to spend, which could well total over £200m this summer.
DSo these journalists seriously believe Daniel Levy would give a new manager, an unproven manager at Tottenham £150m-£200m to spend?
The answer is NO, an emphatic no, absolutely no way.
I wrote the other day that Conte has been preparing for next season, indeed i have been saying it since the January window, allbeit with a break from writing in between.
This season has been his audition, yes audition. Not every manager can work at Tottenham, not every manager can succeed.
Daniel Levy clearly agreed with Antonio Conte before he signed that there would be a cash injection if we reached the Champions League, possibly even if we didn't.
He would not have signed without those assurances so even the most ardent anti-Levy and anti-ENIC fan has to admit that must have been the case.
If you accept that, then you have to accept that Conte has known this all along and the only possible doubt is if the club would hold good to that promise.
Our clueless reporters, who are merely fans and do not have access to sources inside the club as journalists used to do, haven't considered this and thus we have had their narrative about him thinking of leaving and needing to be convinced to stay, even now.
You have the likes of Matt Law even now trying desperately backtracking to try and convince the gullible that Paratici is taking this package to Italy to say please stay.
Simon Jordan: "The media always twist things to suit their agenda rather than reporting the facts."
I mean, it's complete garbage, it would mean Conte knows nothing about club investment plans, which is unthinkable as he simply wouldn't have signed without guarantees.
Matty boy has this one wrong. We all get things wrong, I get things wrong, players make you look like mugs when they go back on their word and change tack.
Too much for the kids to take in, but I don't write for the kids, they aren't my target market.
Running off at one of my traditional tangents, although this is more up a side alley, I have enjoyed taking a couple of days away from setting up my new project to write a series of articles (11:40pm Tuesday evening at the moment).
Don't get used to it though, it's time consuming and my new project must come first.
Çağlar Söyüncü
Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Juventus and Atlético Madrid have all joined Tottenham Hotspur in paying close attention to Leicester City centre-back Çağlar Söyüncü.The 26-year-old (27 in May) right-footed Turkish international (45 caps, 2 goals, 1 assist) has switched agents ahead of the summer transfer window.
His contract expires in 2023 so there is a very real danger he could run it down to leave for free.
Maxwell Cornet
Every club needs the Ben Davie's of this world, a solid professional who isn't on huge wages. There always has to be that balance and the signing of Fraser Forster is a part of that.
Tottenham see 25-year-old (26 in September) left wing-back or winger Burnley star Maxwell Cornet as an option with proven Premier League experience.
With Burnley being relegated and so badly mismanaged that they have gone from over £100m in the black to over £45m in the red, thanks to the new owners using club money to buy the club, that they need to sell players to cut their cloth and mat well not come straight back up.
Cornet has a £15million release clause in his contract if the club were relegated so now that has activated.
The Ivory Coast international (28 caps, 5 goals, 1 assist) figured in 30% of the Burnley goals scored while he was on the pitch in the Premier League.
He started 58% of he time he was available and played 55% of the minutes he was available for.
In 1,744 minutes, covering 21 Premier League starts and 5 substitute appearances, he scored 9 goals and had 1 assist.
The breakdown shows his versatility but it doesn't suggest he is the player we need, although 5 goals and 1 assist from 11 games on the left isn't a bad return across just 771 minutes.
771 minutes is equivalent to 8.57 full games which means Cornet had a goal contribution every 128.5 minutes in a team that struggled to score goals.
That does suggest he would be better in a better team surrounded by better players and better finishers.
I'm not by any means saying we are strongly looking to buy him but I can see why there is interest, there is more to him when you delve, than meets the eye at first glance.
Moussa Dembélé
Foot Mercato report that Tottenham are interested in signing 25-year-old (26 in July) Lyon striker Moussa Dembélé.
The former French U-21 international (25 caps, 13 goals, 2 assists) was previously with Fulham and Celtic, where he was linked with Spurs and a loan spell at Atlético Madrid.
This season in Ligue 1 he has scored 21 goals and had 4 assists in 30 games (started 25, 5 substitute appearances). He also scored 1 goal and had 1 assist in 6 Europa League games.
Dembélé has a year left on his contract and Lyon are looking for £21.32m (€25m - US$26.82m - AUS$37.86m) for him.
He missed 8 games through injury and scored a goal every 105 minutes, Kylian Mbappé scored a goal every 108 minutes.
His chance conversion rate was 27%, Mbappé's was 23%.
He is dual footed, has excellent hold up and link up play, he heads, dribbles and runs off the shoulder so looks a good fit for us, at a bargain price.
Tanguy Ndombélé
We have been following Dembélé this season and don't forget Lyon have had Tanguy Ndombélé on loan so is there a deal to be done there?
Probably no because he wasn't impressive and failed to command a starting spot. PSG were watching him and they were not impressed so his future is in limbo.
He is starting to look like a player who is onlly interested in money and as he has a fat contract doesn't have to try.
Tottenham received a £1.28m loan fee for him but he only started 7 Ligue 1 games and wasn't even in the squad on 5 occasions.
Lyon are not signing him for the £54m agreed as part of the loan deal and he has returned to Spurs.
Youssuf Fofana
Youssuf Fofana is a French U-21 international (2 caps) central midfielder playing for Monaco, a club who buy young players and develop them to sell at a profit.
The French side bought him from Strasbourg in January 2020 for £13.5m and is a young player we have been keeping tabs on.
Stefan De Vrij and Milan Škriniar
OK let's turn to Italy and the centre-backs at Inter Milan.
There have been reports of 30-year-old (31 next February) Stefan De Vrij being available but if Alessandro Bastoni is sold De Vrij is likely to stay.
However, things are developing.
Bremer has agreed a 3-year deal with Inter worth €3m a year (just under £50,000 a week) and Inter, it is suggested, would like to sell us De Vrig instead of Bastoni.
He only recently signed a new deal but there is a release clause Torino had to agree to or he would have left for free in a year.
The reasoning is that Italian sports agent Federico Pastorello has offered Inter 34-year-old (25 next February) Lazio centre-back Francesco Acerbi, who would presumably then be a back-up to a back three of Škriniar, Bremen Bastoni.
Equally there have been reports that Inter might sell and Tottenham might be interested in buying 27-year-old (28 next February) Milan Škriniar, who turned us down last summer after we had agreed a deal with Inter.
Škriniar and Inter had a contract negotiation meeting last week in a hotel in the centre of Milan. The belief at the Italian club is that a deal for the Slovakian can be concluded this summer.
Christian Eriksen
Plenty of journalists trying to guess at this one and make something that I don't believe is there.
We might be delighted that Eriksen is playing again but he is not the right player for Spurs moving forward, we have moved on.
He started 10 games and his mobility isn't the same as it was before his heart issue. I am not convinced he would be a good signing with the mobility required in a position he would be likely to play.
I'd be looking more long-term, Eriksen is 30 (31 next February) and looking elsewhere personally.
Ivan Perišić
Ivan Perišić has now agreed terms with both Tottenham and Chelsea, which places pressure on Inter Milan to get nearer to the terms he wants. Reports suggest that he'll make a final decision on Monday, we'll see.
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