Conte waiting on Tottenham transfer talks

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte said on Tuesday he is still waiting to hold talks with club chiefs over their plans for the January transfer window.

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Conte intends to speak to chairman Daniel Levy and managing director of football Fabio Paratici about how to bolster his squad during the current window, which opened on Saturday.

Conte took charge of the north London club in November following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo after a 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United, and said then that he wanted time to evaluate his players

"My expectation is to speak with my club and then to tell them my opinions," Conte said ahead of his return across London to former club Chelsea for a League Cup semifinal first leg tie on Wednesday.

"This is only my expectation and then the club knows after I speak to the club, they will make the decisions they want to make."

In his brief spell in charge, the 52-year-old Italian has yet to lose a Premier League match, guiding Spurs to sixth, just two points shy of the top four who will qualify for next season's Champions League.

Conte downplayed the possible impact of the coronavirus pandemic on transfer activity, amid concerns some clubs might not spend as much as usual given the impact of decreased revenues as a result of playing matches behind closed doors or, alternatively, would hold onto players they might otherwise sell in case of a fresh outbreak.

"Covid or no Covid, if you have to do something, you have to do it," he said. "Not because there's Covid or not Covid.

"On this topic, we'll try to take the best decision with the club and see what we can do."

Spurs will travel to Stamford Bridge without the injured Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon, although the latter hopes to return in Sunday's FA Cup game with third-tier Morecambe.

"Ryan Sessegnon's situation is better than Steven Bergwijn's," Conte said. "I think he's almost ready to be available in the next game, in the FA Cup he'll be available.

"For Steve, I think we have to pay a bit more attention because his problem was in the calf, where you have to pay more attention and wait a bit before we have him available again."