Spurs: Conte 'pleasantly surprised' by £18m star at Hotspur Way

Antonio Conte has been “pleasantly surprised” by Oliver Skipp’s rapid development at Tottenham, according to journalist Paul Brown.

Despite an ongoing muscle problem overshadowing much of his campaign, the £18m-rated midfielder has made huge strides during his breakout season in the first team at Spurs.

During the early parts of 2021-2022, the 21-year-old’s form was a rare positive in an underwhelming first half of the campaign.

Having returned from a productive loan spell with Norwich in the Championship, Skipp came straight into the side under Nuno Espirito Santo and would keep his place despite the arrival of Conte.

He would end up starting 14 of the first Premier League games this season, forming a partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Prior to his injury, which has kept him on the sidelines for more than two months, Skipp had the best passing success rate (90.1 percent) from players that have started a game for Tottenham this term, while he averages an impressive 1.8 tackles every 90 minutes.

Unfortunately for Skipp, a pelvic injury has stalled his progress, allowing January arrival Rodrigo Bentancur to replace him in midfield.

Regardless, Brown believes that Conte has been impressed with what he saw from the young midfielder prior to his setback.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think Conte has been quite pleasantly surprised by Skipp, who has done a really good job for him. Him and Hojbjerg seem to be the muscle in that midfield, whether they play together or not.”

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Almost everything is going rosily at Tottenham right now. They’re bang in form, scoring goals for fun and are in pole position in the race for the top four.

However, Skipp’s uncertain