Japhet Tanganga is currently in South Korea as Tottenham Hotspur prepares for the pre-season. Antonio Conte has been making his side work a lot as they look to build upon last season. Although the Spurs did well last season but it was not the best season for Tanganga. The Englishman’s season ended abruptly after a knee injury in March.
Even last season as well at times it looked like he will be able to break into the first team he would break into the first team. However, either due to injuries or a dip in form, he was unable to do so. This season he is fully fit and firing and he will be looking to knock on the first team door.
The youngster’s versatility was used by Conte last season. He even played as a right-wing-back on the final day of the season against Norwich City. However, it now looks like the Italian has settled on a position for the academy product. In a recent interview with Football London, Tanganga revealed that Conte views him as one of the centre back either on the left or right.
This is also the position where he is given the most information by the former Chelsea boss. Tanganga said, “He sees me as one of the centre-backs, either right or left. That’s the position he gives me the most information in and tells me what to do”. Although he might be close to a breakthrough season, speculation regarding his future still persists. He has been linked to a few clubs in Itlay and he addressed the speculation as well.
Is Japhet Tanganga happy at Tottenham Hotspur?
The player is said to be happy at the club and he is not following a lot on the speculation. He is said to be focusing on being injury-free so that he can help his team. Tanganga said “It’s just speculation and I don’t read too much into speculation. My focus is I’m just happy to be back, being injury-free and helping the team as much as I can and be ready when I’m called upon,
The 23 years old is also thankful for the opportunities he got last season. Conte decided to play him as Cristian Romero got injured. The Argentinian has been deployed at the centre of the back three and he has been very impressive in that role. This season as well he is expected to play a big role, as Spurs look to push further up the table.
While displacing someone like Romero will be extremely difficult, Tanganga would want to partner with the former Atalanta centre-back. In order to do that last season, he has spent time understanding what his manager wants from his defenders. The 23 years old revealed that he would work with Oliver Skipp during his recovery. The duo got injured around the same time.
He said “We were injured together and we would go into the meetings and he would be talking about the defenders and what they needed to implement,” So we would just work out what we would do if I were playing so when we did get back fit
