‘A lot of money’ – Conte says spending spree needed to close gap on Liverpool

Antonio Conte says Tottenham will need to invest smartly and heavily in the transfer market if they want to close the gap between themselves and Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp arrived at Anfield in 2015 and was asked whether his Tottenham team are in a similar position now compared to Liverpool seven years ago.

He said: “I don’t know but if I was sure this type of situation can happen, I sign, you understand?

“But also, the time for Liverpool was easier than now because when Liverpool started this work with Jurgen, they were a top team but not in a way they are now – so consolidated with an important manager, always the same team, big investment, big money spent on the transfer market.

“They had also the right space to improve and reach this.

“Now, in my opinion, I am talking about this league, it is more difficult because the space is not so big.

“To reduce this gap, you need to spend a lot of money because you need to buy important players. You have to know this otherwise you cannot reduce this gap and hope always for a miracle.”

Spurs have come close to winning the Premier League and Champions League during Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure at the club.

The north Londoners were Leicester’s main rivals in their stunning title triumph, before ultimately finishing third. Meanwhile, they finished in second and seven points behind Conte’s Chelsea side in the 2016/17 campaign and reached the 2019 Champions League final, losing to Liverpool.

The Italian believes the Reds are the ideal model to follow in order to ensure long-term success.

“First of all, I think it depends on the desire of the club. I think Liverpool put Jurgen in charge seven years ago, they wanted to build something important and to bring Liverpool again to fight for (the) Champions League, to win titles and to continue the important story of Liverpool,” he added.

“I think maybe he signed a contract for three years and then extended. For sure, if you want to create something important you need time, you need patience – especially if you start to work with a team that start behind the top positions. It is not easy.

“You need time. I think in these seven months, we did a really good job with the club and the opportunity we had also in January to sign two good players for us, to help us, to improve the quality of the team.

“I think we did a good job but, for sure, you need time. Liverpool is a clear example. I don’t want to tell something wrong but maybe they struggle, no? They struggle at the start of Klopp’s path with Liverpool, also to qualify for the Champions League.

“Maybe they needed four years before they started to win.

“It is not simple because you have a master in front of you, you need time, you need a big investment because you have to spend a lot of money if you want to be competitive and try to reduce this gap, otherwise you have to accept to stay in the middle and finish.”