Tottenham Are ‘A Couple Of Signings Away’ From Challenging Liverpool And Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur have been told they are one or two signings away from challenging Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

Antonio Conte has already added Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma to his squad in the summer transfer window and that will not be the end of Spurs' spending.

Sporting director Fabio Paratici reportedly promised Conte a £150 million budget after qualifying for the Champions League ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal.

Only a small fraction of that has been spent and Dean Saunders thinks Spurs have a genuine chance to break the Liverpool and City duopoly.

The former Wales international explained on talkSPORT: "He’s gone in there, got the running stats up, and they’ve got ready made pros there who have now got the bit between their teeth.

"He’s made two good signings from the club he was at in the past and they’ve both played well."

Every player has improved since Conte arrived in November and he has introduced a number of strict rules, including no ketchup at the training ground.

Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur joined from Juventus in January and played key roles in pipping Arsenal to the top four.

Spurs have also been linked with moves for Middlesbrough wing-back Djed Spence, Christian Eriksen and Everton winger Richarlison.

Spence is said to be a 'priority' target after impressing on loan at Nottingham Forest.

Eriksen joined Brentford in January and proved he is still capable of hanging in English football.

His six-month deal is set to expire in the next few weeks and a return to Spurs, where he spent seven-and-a-half years of his career, is appealing.

He worked under Conte at Inter Milan and won the Serie A title in 2021.

Meanwhile, there is 'definite' interest in Richarlison but the club are yet to make their move.

Saunders continued: "They’ve got [Heung-Min] Son, [Harry] Kane, [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg, [Cristian] Romero, and if they sign another world class centre-back, [Djed] Spence is a better prospect than Emerson.

"The manager is relentless. He doesn’t just want to win something now, he’s not interested in four years he’ll have a good team, he wants to win something now or he’s off.

"He will be saying: 'Let me know, Daniel Levy, if you don’t give me the funds to buy the ready mades'. Perisic is ready made. He’s going to improve them right now.

"I think they are a couple of signings away from having a right go at Man City and Liverpool."

Spurs start their season at home to Southampton on August 6.