Antonio Conte has praised Ryan Sessegnon for how much he has improved over the last 12 months and backed the left-back to break into the England squad in the future.
Sessegnon’s Tottenham career was heading nowhere when Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm a year ago, with the former Fulham man having struggled to stay fit and break into the North London club’s starting lineup.
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However, Conte’s system has got the best out of the England Under-21 international, who displaced Sergio Reguilon as the Italian’s first choice for the left wing-back position last season.
Sessegnon has had to compete with Ivan Perisic for the role this season but has continued to get regular minutes under his belt.
There were even suggestions that the Spurs man could make it into the England squad for the World Cup after the injury to Ben Chilwell (Daily Mail) but he missed out on the final 26-man squad named by Gareth Southgate.
Conte is in no doubt that Sessegnon can break into England’s senior set-up in the future. The Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “We signed [Ivan] Perisic but before he played a lot of games because I considered him a reliable player.
“Ryan for sure has had a big, big improvement in one year. Also, if you remember in the past he had many injuries. He has found a good stability and has improved a lot and in the future, for sure he can become one of the players for the future England squad.
“Then it is up to him – to continue to work and continue to improve, to have this desire because now he is playing with the U21s with Spence and Skipp. For sure there is a possibility for them in the future if they continue to improve to make another step with the national team.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I can understand why Conte really likes Sessegnon as the 22-year-old has a fantastic engine, is a very good athlete and someone who seems to take tactical instructions on board.
However, the question mark with the former Fulham man has always been about his quality on the ball. His touches are often quite clumsy and unfortunately, I do not think technique is something players can improve upon.
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