Conte on Kane: A striker is more important than a wife
FT Desk
- Updated: 22 Feb 2022 14:18 GMT
- 3 min read
Antonio Conte has amusingly remarked that having a good striker and goalkeeper is more important than choosing the right wife.
The futures of both Tottenham attacker Harry Kane and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris have been a key talking point at the club for much of the season.
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Kane was close to leaving Spurs last summer. Manchester City were very public in their desire to sign Harry Kane in a €100 million-plus deal and it was a transfer that the striker was desperate to make.
However, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy would not sell, even reportedly refusing to pick up the phone to hear Man City’s offer.
This led to the attacker allegedly not turning up for training for the best part of a week, although the Euro 2020 star denies he refused to train.
Kane eventually stayed and, after a slow start to the season, he has been reborn since Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.
At the weekend, Kane produced one of the best performances of his career – scoring twice in a famous 3-2 win at champions and leaders Manchester City.
As for Lloris, he became only the twelfth player in Tottenham’s history to make 400 appearances for the club during that win at City.
His future was also in doubt in the first half of the season until he signed a new contract until 2024.
Conte has explained the importance of having a great goalkeeper and striker with a rather interesting analogy.
What did Conte say?
"There’s a sporting director in Italy that’s my friend. His name is Pantaleo Corvino,” Conte explained.
“He says you can make a mistake about [choosing] your wife but not about the striker or the goalkeeper. For me this is the best quote to understand football."
Conte was speaking ahead of Tottenham’s clash against Burnley on Wednesday. Spurs need a win if they are to stay in the chase for a top-four spot. They are currently seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, although they do have three games in hand on Ralf Rangnick’s men.
