Tottenham: The 8 players sold by Antonio Conte and how they fared since

by — March 29, 2023 in TOP NEWS


Antonio Conte lasted 17 months as Tottenham manager – but what kind of legacy will he leave behind at the club?

The Italian tactician had a somewhat mixed record with the 12 players he signed for the club, but what about the players that departed under his watch? Will Spurs have any regrets about the players that they let go?

We’ve taken a look back at the eight players that have been sold or released whilst Conte was in charge and how they’ve fared since leaving.

We’ve not included players loaned out, such as Djed Spence, Tanguy Ndombele, Joe Rodon and Sergio Reguilon. We’ve also only included players that made first-team appearances for the club, rather than academy prospects released or moved on.

Dele Alli

Where to start with this one?

Once one of the brightest prospects in English football, Alli’s stock waned so much at Tottenham that they were happy to let him go for free.

He joined Everton midway through the 2021-22 season but failed to make much of an impact in their battle against the drop and has since been loaned out to Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas.

There are conflicting reports about the role the former England international has to play in the remainder of Besiktas’ campaign, with some outlets suggested he’s been ousted from the squad entirely.

Either way, the 26-year-old’s struggled to rekindle his career in the Turkish capital and it appears increasingly unlikely they’ll be taking up the option to sign him permanently.

He did give us this moment though.

dele alli besiktas 2022

READ: Dele Alli’s gloriously sh*t goal for Besiktas deserves its own statue

Dilan Markanday

Markanday pretty much falls into the “peripheral academy player” bracket, but he did make one senior appearance for his boyhood club as a substitute in a 1-0 Europa Conference League defeat to Vitesse.

Not only that but he made history as the first British-Asian player to play for Tottenham and fifth to play for a Premier League club.

“For me, it was an unbelievable feeling to make my debut for this great club, a moment I’ve been working towards and dreaming about since I was a young boy,” he told the official Spurs website.

The 21-year-old striker had to move on to find further opportunities, however. He signed for Blackburn Rovers in January 2022 and has since made six appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals in the League Cup.

He’s currently out on loan at Scottish side Aberdeen.

J’Neil Bennett

Same deal as above. Bennett progressed through the Spurs academy since 2017, and he was handed his first-team debut in a Europa Conference League defeat to Pacos de Ferreira.

No further opportunities were forthcoming and after half a season out on loan at Crewe Alexandra, he was released at the end of last season.

The 21-year-old winger since went on trial at Brentford B and earned himself a one-year contract but he’s yet to make an appearance for Thomas Frank’s Bees.

Marcel Lavinier

A familiar tale, Lavinier’s one Spurs appearance came back in February 2021 as a late substitute in a 4-0 Europa League win over Wolfsberger AC.

The left-back was let go last summer and has since joined Swindon Town, notching two goals in 16 League Two appearances this season.

Steven Bergwijn 

The Dutch international’s insanely late brace at Leicester was probably one of the highlights of the Conte reign, but he never did quite enough to nail down a regular place in the Italian’s favoured XI.

Having joined Spurs from PSV, he then controversially returned to the Netherlands to sign for their rivals Ajax.

The forward has nine goals and five assists in the league this season, but Ajax’s grip at the top of the Eredivisie has loosened following Erik ten Hag’s departure and Feyenoord look set to beat them to the title.

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Formerly a perennial loanee, going out on loan to no fewer than seven clubs while on Tottenham’s books, it never looked as though US international Carter-Vickers was ever going to break through and stake his claim at his parent club.

He never made a Premier League appearance for Spurs and his only opportunities came in the cup competitions.

However, the defender made a big step-up during his final loan away, playing a vital role as Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic took the Scottish title back from Rangers.

Carter-Vickers then joined the Bhoys for a reported £6million fee on a four-year deal. He’s been an ever-present this season as they look set to retain their title.

Jack Clarke

Tottenham’s first signing in over 500 days back in the summer of 2019, highly-rated youngster Clarke joined from Leeds United for a fee of up to £10million.

However, he didn’t get minutes when loaned back to Leeds and never really kicked on in subsequent loans at Stoke and QPR. He spent some time with his parent club but featured more for their Under-21s than the first team.

It took a loan to Sunderland to get Clarke’s career back on track. He played a key role in the Black Cats’ playoff promotion from League One last term and subsequently signed permanently for an undisclosed fee likely to be a small fraction of what Spurs originally bought him for.

However, with a settled role in Wearside, Clarke seems to have found his place. He’s been one of Sunderland’s most outstanding players this season alongside Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo. The 22-year-old has seven goals and six assists in the Championship for Tony Mowbray’s side this season.

Matt Doherty

A penny for his thoughts.

The Republic of Ireland international was originally supposed to go out on loan to Atletico Madrid, but Spurs hit their loanee limit on deadline day so they allowed him to terminate his contract instead.

He’s joined the Spanish giants on a short-term deal and doesn’t look likely to stick around beyond the summer, given his lack of opportunities – one 12-minute cameo to date – under Diego Simeone.

But Doherty doesn’t have any regrets and is relishing the experience.

“I have learned to deal with it,” he said whilst away on international duty.

“I am at Atleti until the end of the season and I am using it as a learning experience. I am improving by training with world-class players every day. I am using the six months I have there to try to improve, to try to better understand the game, and improve in general.”

A Premier League return this summer looks likely.

READ NEXT: The Premier League table since Tottenham hired Antonio Conte

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every manager to take charge of Tottenham in the Prem?





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