Spurs' record signing Tanguy Ndombele could be set for a start this weekend with Oliver Skipp missing due to suspension; watch Tottenham vs Leeds, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off at 4.30pm
Friday 19 November 2021 11:50, UK
Antonio Conte has challenged Tanguy Ndombele to work for the team and not for himself ahead of a potential recall for the midfielder at home to Leeds on Sunday.
With Oliver Skipp missing due to suspension, it leaves the Italian with two options: either Harry Winks will return to the fold, or Ndombele will get a chance alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo have all failed to get the best out of Tottenham's record signing on a consistent basis since his arrival from Lyon two years ago for a reported fee of £55m.
Conte said of Ndombele: "Yeah, I have seen that many managers struggle about this situation, about the position. For sure, Tanguy has the quality.
"At the same time, he has to understand that there is a team and he has to play into the team. I think it means that it is important to keep order and to do what the position asks you to do.
"For sure with Tanguy we are working. We are working very hard. He has to work much more than the others, because he has talent, but he has to put this talent into the team for the best of the team, not for the single player.
"In my football, I have an idea and in this idea there are tasks for the players. Every single player has to know what he has to do. Otherwise, if every player just goes and runs around the pitch, I think it will be a mess."
Hojbjerg is expected to recover from the leg injury he sustained against Everton two weeks ago but Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are both out.
"We have bad news about Cristian Romero because he is injured. He is with the doctors and now we have to wait seven to 10 days to have a scan," Conte added.
"Also Giovani Lo Celso didn't come back in a perfect (condition) physically and I don't know about him if he is available."
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has described Conte as "a master" at getting his players to perform at their best.
"What does unify all the coaches is the virtues they extract from the players they coach," Bielsa said.
"That demands how you prepare them and to convince them. In those two aspects, to prepare them and convince them, he is a master."
Former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan head coach Conte signed a two-year deal to replace the sacked Nuno at Tottenham before the international break.
The 52-year-old guided Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years before leaving the club in May and won the Premier League in his first season in charge of Chelsea in 2016/17.
"He's a genuine representative in his country of managers," Bielsa said. "He has triumphed in every team he has managed.
"He's a reference in world football, not only in the league he participates in. He's a coach who gets very high performances from his players."
Conte won three Serie A titles with former club Juventus and twice led them to Coppa Italia glory, and spent two years in charge of Italy before becoming Chelsea manager in 2016.
When asked about Conte's style of management, Bielsa said: "Intensity. The collective sense. Teams that attack with a lot of players, but not because of this do they defend with less players.
