Tottenham transfer plan obvious as Antonio Conte to seal seventh signing ‘in coming days’

It was not surprising that one wing-back scored and the other grabbed two assists (though just one officially) as Tottenham won their Premier League curtain-raiser 4-1 against Southampton. Ryan Sessegnon made it 1-1 before Moussa Djenepo turned in Emerson Royal’s cross for Spurs’ third before the Brazilian found Dejan Kulusevski for the fourth.

Sessegnon was the man of the match, having a second goal chalked off due to offside, and thrived down the left-hand side. Ivan Perisic may have signed from Inter Milan this summer but he will not take the starting spot with ease on this basis.

Meanwhile Emerson has Djed Spence – another summer signing – and Matt Doherty and Lucas Moura for competition on the right but on this evidence is more than up for the fight. Sadly for him that it was an own goal for his first cross means he only gets one assist on his record.

But it was yet more evidence of how vital wing-backs will be as Antonio Conte seeks success at Spurs. As Conte looks to take the Londoners closer to the Premier League’s top two – Manchester City and Liverpool – and win a first trophy since 2008, the players operating out wide on either flank will perhaps be even as important as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

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That’s why he reunited with Perisic from whom he knows he will get so much. The Croatian may be 33 but produced four goals and five assists in 32 matches as Inter won the league under Conte in 2021. The Italian boss left after that but last season Perisic produced 10 goals and nine assists across all competitions from left wing-back.

And Spurs’ imminent seventh signing – Destiny Udogie – was similarly influential last term. The 19-year-old Italian produced five goals and three assists in 35 top-flight matches for a Udinese team that finished 12th. Football.London say Spurs expect to sign Udogie in ‘the coming days’ and will loan the teenager back to the Serie A side for this season.

No full-backs contributed to more goals in Italy than Perisic and Udogie last season. Their signings indicate Conte’s clear plan is not just to make the wing-backs absolutely vital to the Spurs attack now, but in the future too. Udogie is a left-sided player and so appears to be the long-term replacement for Perisic. The succession plan is already being put into place.

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Sessegnon will want a say about that too, though. Based on the evidence of the Southampton rout, Conte already has several fine options already at his disposal. Emerson had moments of frailty in the first 45 but then improved massively after the break while Sessegnon was superb throughout. Spence, too, has a might high ceiling. And Perisic will be a big presence on and off the pitch in helping to set the standards to which the likes of Sessegnon will aspire to meet consistently.

And the opening weekend win showed Sessegnon is clearly taking things on board already. Conte said after: “I think it’s very important that we signed a player like Ivan Perisic because he [Sessegnon] can see the way to learn something about Ivan. We are talking about a very important player in Ivan, a top player.

“Sometimes it’s good to bring into your team players even if they are a bit over-age. If they are a good player with experience, they can bring this experience to improve young players in your squad. I think Sessegnon is doing this.” If he can continue to do so, and his team-mates follow suit, Spurs look well set in either wing-back role for years to come. And there’s even more to come when Udogie is added to the mix next summer.