MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte has “no problem” with Son Heung-min’s form as he backed the Tottenham forward to hit the goal trail following a barren start to the season.
While Tottenham have begun the new Premier League campaign well, taking seven points from their first three outings, Son has struggled to replicate his fine form from last season.
Son shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah after scoring 23 goals last term but is yet to find the net in 2022-23.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to promoted Nottingham Forest, however, Conte praised the attitude of the South Korea international and insisted the goals will come.
“You know very well we’re talking about a really, really important player for me and for the club,” he said.
“For sure, I think Sonny in the last three games had chances to score but there’s a moment where you’re a bit lucky or a bit unlucky.
“I think [there is] no problem with Sonny’s performance. His attitude and commitment are always up very high. I’m happy with his performance and I don’t see any problems with him.
“For sure, you know very well when you’re a striker you like to score, and when you score and win you’re happy.
“But at the same time, we always have to put the club winning before the interests of every single player.
“But it’s not a problem. I repeat, he’s an important player, last season he scored 23 goals… No problem. I’m sure when he goes to score, he will gain the right confidence.”
Meanwhile, Spurs have made seven senior signings during a busy transfer window, including the likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic, and Conte suggested there could be more to come, particularly if players depart.
“If there are players that go out, we need players to come in,” he added.
“The club know very well the importance for me to have a squad, to have a couple of players in every role.”
Conte’s desire to add depth to his squad is partly motivated by their participation in the Champions League, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting CP and Marseille in Group D.
Spurs last took part in European football’s premier club competition in 2019-20, but Conte believes they have every chance of progressing from an evenly matched group.
“You know very well we’re talking about the most important and most difficult competition in Europe, maybe in the world,” Conte said.
“You find the best teams in the world in this competition. Our group, I see balance. I see balance in our group.
“For sure our target is to try to go to the next round, this has to be clear. I think we gained the possibility to play this important competition and we want to enjoy, to play good football and possibly to go far.”
