Former Tottenham star, Alan Hutton believes Adama Traore used Spurs to get a move to Barcelona and that would have annoyed Antonio Conte.
The Lilywhites had been looking to add the Spaniard to their squad as a part of a January reinforcement drive.
However, Traore eventually moved to cash-strapped Barca after it seemed Spurs were closing in on an agreement with Wolves.
Hutton gave his opinion on the saga telling Football Insider: “I think their number one picks they let slip through their fingers. Adama Traore used the Tottenham link to get a better move.
“So I think Conte will be annoyed. He probably wanted to make his own stamp on this team and he’s not been able to.”
Traore looked all set to become a wing-back under Conte and he may well have solved our problems in that position, however, he apparently did not fancy that job.
The Spaniard has played in more advanced roles at Wolves and gave no indication that he would be a success at Spurs in a defensive role.
Just because Conte pulled that trick off once with Victor Moses does not mean that he can achieve that outcome again and again. It certainly would not have made the manager’s job any easier if the player did not want that role in the first place.
That said, it is easy to see why Conte may be annoyed over a missed opportunity but there is only so much a club can do to entice a player to join.
Chances are that Conte is happy enough right now with the January signings and it will be summer when he can achieve far more in the transfer window. Providing that Daniel Levy backs him of course.
