Antonio Conte hints Tottenham told him to axe Tanguy Ndombele in strange interview

Antonio Conte appeared to hint he was told to leave Tanguy Ndombele out of the Tottenham squad to face Chelsea in the second-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final by the club’s hierarchy. The sulky Italian, who saw his side beaten 1-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate by his former side, delivered a shady interview with Sky Sports in which he displayed clear frustration with the current situation at Spurs.

Conte met with owner Daniel Levy and technical director Fabio Paratici earlier this week to discuss the club’s January transfer business but so far, activity in the market has been of a minimum.

Instead, it looks like Tottenham could be set to clear some of the deadwood within their squad with their lack of quality once again evident in the two defeats against Chelsea.

One player who is now facing an uncertain future in north London is Ndombele, who headed straight down the tunnel after being subbed in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Morecambe in the FA Cup.

Seemingly, as a result of his actions, there was not a place for Ndombele in the squad to face the Blues.

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Conte was willing to admit Chelsea were worthy of a place at Wembley, where they will now meet Liverpool or Arsenal.

“I think at the end of the two games, I think Chelsea for sure deserved to reach the final, to play the final of this competition,” he added.

“We have to be honest to tell this. I think today in the second half we created many chances to score.

“We deserved a final result that was much better but you have to give a judgement after two games, for sure Chelsea deserved to reach the final.

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“In this moment, we are talking about two very different teams, in every aspect.”

The Tottenham boss was not particularly pleased when quizzed on the gulf in class between his side and Chelsea, stating he is “bored” and “annoyed” of answering the same question.

“I repeat, I’m talking too much because I have to talk with the media,” he snapped.

“To repeat on the same topic, the same questions, honestly I am a little bit bored, a bit annoyed. That’s it.”