Antonio Conte blocked Oliver Skipp from leaving Tottenham in January

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte actually blocked Oliver Skipp from leaving the club in January, with Football.London that the youngster was open to a move.

Skipp is enjoying a run in the Tottenham side of late after Rodrigo Bentancur was ruled out for the remainder of the season, while Yves Bissouma seems to have suffered the same fate.

The 22-year-old had struggled for minutes under Conte after he picked up an injury which kept him out for a large chunk of the last campaign.

The Spurs academy product bagged his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Chelsea yesterday and he looks set to play a key role for the remainder of the season.

But it seems that Skipp was previously open to leaving on loan in search of regular first-team football.

Conte blocked Skipp exit

Football.London reports that Skipp was ready to leave Spurs in January after finding minutes hard to come by before the injuries to Bentancur and Bissouma.

But Conte blocked the move as he wanted to keep the youngster at the club and it’s now looking like the right decision.

Of course, Skipp has benefited from a spell away from Tottenham in the past as he excelled during his loan switch to Norwich City.

The ‘amazing’ youngster broke into the first-team when he returned but the signings of Bentancur and Bissouma, coupled with injuries, have seen his game time limited.

It’s looking like a sensible decision from Conte to block a possible exit last month, especially after his midfield options have been decimated in recent weeks.

The Italian now has just three options for the two spaces in midfield, with Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg being preferred over Pape Matar Sarr for the time being.

Conte will undoubtedly have to manage the trio expertly when he returns to Hotspur Way as he will be eager to avoid any more injuries in the middle of the park.

Bentancur’s injury looked set to be a massive blow for Spurs, but Skipp has really stepped up in his absence.