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Antonio Conte made 12 signings across three transfer windows over the course of his 16 months in charge of Tottenham – but how did his transfer spending record compare to their rivals over that period?
We’ve taken a look at every Premier League club’s net spend since Conte was named Spurs manager back in November 2021.
With the 53-year-old tactician at the helm, Spurs had the fifth-highest net spend in the Premier League over the past 18 months.
Daniel Levy sanctioned almost £155million in terms of net spend, which was marginally more than old rivals Arsenal and considerably more than Liverpool and Manchester City over the same period.
However, it was considerably less than Conte’s old club Chelsea – who spent the vast majority of their near £500million since new owner Todd Boehly took over last summer – and also noticeably less than top-four rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
Newly promoted Nottingham Forest have also racked up marginally more in net spend over the past 18 months.
“I continue to repeat that last season we made a miracle,” the Italian said earlier this season.
“It happened, why? Because we played only one competition and we played with 12 or 13 players that didn’t have injuries in the last 15 games.
“We played with the best players every game, because we played only the league. Don’t forget that with three games to go, Arsenal was four points up from us – and that we finished 20 points behind Manchester City.”
Conte led Spurs to Champions League qualification last season, pipping Arsenal to fourth place after a strong end to the 2021-22 campaign.
Backed by mid-season signings Rodrigo Bentancur, signed from Juventus for £15.8million, and Dejan Kulusevski, also signed from Juventus on an initial loan, Conte’s Spurs finished last season in fine fettle.
Dele Alli, a stalwart of the Mauricio Pochettino era, was allowed to depart for free in January, while in the summer Jack Clarke, Steven Bergwijn and Cameron Carter-Vickers were sold to Sunderland, Ajax and Celtic respectively, raising approximately £33million in funds between them.
Last summer Spurs went on to turn Cristian Romero’s move from Atalanta into a permanent deal worth £42.5million. They also signed Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, Djed Spence and Fraser Forster at a further combined cost of £130.5million, while Clement Lenglet arrived on loan from Barcelona.
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READ: Ranking Antonio Conte’s 12 signings at Tottenham from worst to best
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“I remember very well in the summer people talked about Tottenham as title contenders, but in my experience, it was a bit crazy to see this,” he added.
“To become title contenders, to become a team ready to fight to win something, you need to have a solid foundation, which means to have 14 or 15 strong players, with quality, and the other young players to develop.
“Every season, you can add two players, but two players priced £50m, £60m, £70m. In this way, it means you are signing important players who can improve the quality and the level of your team.
“But this is a process, guys. This is a process.”
Following Conte’s comments in January, Spurs offloaded Djed Spence out on loan to Rennes, released Matt Doherty to allow him to join Atletico Madrid for free, and brought in Pedro Porro and Arnaut Danjuma on loan.
Tottenham currently have the seventh most expensively-assembled squad in the Premier League and the fifth-highest wage bill. Conte has them as comfortably the fourth best-performing side in the division over the course of his entire tenure.
The club’s net spend over the past 18 months doesn’t include the fees for Kulusevski and Porro, who are set to turn their initial loans into permanent deals – for £31million and £37million respectively – this summer.
Note: We’ve included the three clubs that were promoted last summer, but haven’t included the three clubs that were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2021-22 campaign (Burnley, Watford and Norwich).
20. Brighton – £69.16million (profit)
19. Manchester City – £42.84million (profit)
18. Leicester City – £30.58million (profit)
17. Everton – £9.05million (profit)
16. Leeds United – £37.7million
15. Brentford – £43.09million
14. Fulham – £43.86million
13. Crystal Palace – £47.79million
12. Aston Villa – £68.22million
11. Bournemouth – £81.09million
10. Liverpool – £88.04million
9. Wolves – £107.45million
8. Southampton – £121.93million
7. Arsenal – £151.88million
6. West Ham – £154.17million
5. Tottenham – £154.92million
4. Nottingham Forest – £163.17million
3. Manchester United – £198.66million
2. Newcastle – £254.8million
1. Chelsea – £482.64million
READ NEXT: The Premier League table since Tottenham hired Antonio Conte
