According to Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson, Tottenham could allow Antonio Conte to sanction an exit for Sergio Reguilon this summer.
The Lowdown: Increasing speculation
It was confirmed by the club at the start of this month that the Spaniard - alongside team-mates Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Winks - had been omitted from the travelling squad for Spurs' pre-season tour of South Korea, being dealt a blow even before the 2022/23 campaign gets underway.
Football Insider reported last week that the 25-year-old was in advanced talks with Sevilla over a potential season-long loan, further fuelling speculation that a Premier League exit was on the cards.
The Latest: Robinson’s support for Conte
Speaking to Football Insider, Robinson has backed Conte to take charge of his squad and get rid of players that he doesn’t want in the coming weeks, including Reguilon.
The former Spurs goalkeeper said of the Spaniard: “I think he’s a good player. I think he offered a lot going forward down that left-hand side.
“Listen, if a player has been left out of a pre-season tour for no other reason then he’s clearly not part of the manager’s plans. I’d be sad to see him go.
“It’s a case of allowing manager free rein. You can’t bring in a manager in at that level and not allow him a full overhaul of the squad if he sees fit.
“A manager has been brought in for a reason. I’ve said so many times, allow him freedom, allow him the time to do what he wants.
“You can’t just keep hold of players for the sake of it that he doesn’t want. If Reguilon is one that he doesn’t want and doesn’t see fit going forward then you have to trust the man in charge.
“He’s just a victim of circumstance and the manager in charge. You have to back Conte over a player. You’ve got [Ivan] Perisic so you would imagine Reguilon’s game time would be limited.”
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The Verdict: Writing is on the wall
Conte’s attacking formation requires the full-backs to bomb forward along the flanks, but as Robinson stated, the arrival of Perisic on the left wing could well push Reguilon even closer to the exit door than he already appeared to be.
The Madrid native only made 16 appearances under the Tottenham manager in the top flight last term, and after being left behind in N17 for pre-season, it just goes to show that the 52-year-old doesn’t see him playing any real part in his starting XI over the coming months.
It’s believed that Spurs have put a €30m (£25.7m) price tag on Reguilon’s head, so they could be wish to cash in and use his transfer fee to generate funds to put towards any further incomings before the end of the summer.