---
title: "Tottenham Hotspur: Antonio Conte now blown away by rarely-used player"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-hotspur-antonio-conte-now-blown-away-by-rarely-used-player/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Emilio Galantini"
section: "Tottenham Hotspur News"
published: "2022-03-30T20:15:01Z"
modified: "2022-03-30T20:15:01Z"
---

# Tottenham Hotspur: Antonio Conte now blown away by rarely-used player

**Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has apparently been blown away by one player at N17 who he’s barely selected as some interesting news emerges.**

### The Lowdown: No room in Spurs’ defence…

It appears the likes of Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies are all ahead of one man in the pecking order with centre-back Joe Rodon unable to get a look-in this season.

[Tottenham newest updates…](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/)

Even Dier’s spell on the sidelines didn’t result in more game time for Rodon despite Conte[previously stating](https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/news/truth-those-gareth-bale-spurs-23104177) that he is seen as a deputy to the England international.

The Welshman has made no Premier League starts this season, playing just[78 minutes](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/302312/Show/Joe-Rodon) in that time, with the vast majority of his minutes coming in the [Europa Conference League.](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/302312/Show/Joe-Rodon)

\[freshpress-quiz id=”383375″\]

### The Latest: Conte now blown away…

Now, according to Wales boss Robert Page, it appears Conte has now been blown away by Rodon’s exploits on international duty.

The 47-year-old claims that Conte was ‘very complimentary’ about the defender’s performance last week during Wales’ 2-1 win over Austria.

*“I know Antonio Conte was watching last Thursday,”* Page explained (via [The Sun](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18097569/antonio-conte-wales-report-joe-rodon/)).

*“He was very complimentary about Joe’s performance, and rightly so. I thought he was outstanding.*

*“To come in off the back of not playing at club level, Joe deserves an enormous amount of credit for that level of performance.*

*“It shows he has looked after himself.*

*“If you are going to be a Tottenham player you have to be fit at this moment in time. I know that for a fact.”*

### The Verdict: Second chance?

As Rodon looks to battle his way into Conte’s plans, he wouldn’t have done his chances any harm.

The 24-year-old could be a real asset for Spurs at club level going by his exploits for Wales and former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho has made no secret of what he believes.

Mourinho called Rodon a ‘[perfect](https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/fixtures-results/mourinho-bale-keane-rodon-celso-19957018)‘ player during his time at the club and it will be interesting to see whether Conte turns to Rodon more over the final stretch of 2021/2022.

***In other news: Conte eyeing £25.2m-rated ‘game-changer’ who Spurs once agreed personal terms for! Find out more [here.](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-transfer-rumours/spurs-transfer-news-latest-rumours-adama-traore-sport-barcelona/)***