‘I’m very happy’: Antonio Conte says Tottenham have signed a really ‘strong’ player

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has praised Richarlison following his Spurs debut on Wednesday.

The Brazil international joined Tottenham from Everton at the start of July in a deal reportedly worth up to £60million.

Richarlison made his Spurs bow in the 6-3 friendly win over Team K-League in South Korea.

Antonio Conte named the 25-year-old in the starting XI, and he played over an hour at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Richarlison began the match at centre-forward in Conte’s standard 3-4-3 before switching to the right in the second half.

He was busy throughout, had several sights of goal, and linked up well with Lucas Moura in the first half and with Harry Kane after the break.

“I’ve seen a lot of positive things about Richy”

After the game, football.london‘s Alasdair Gold asked Conte whether Richarlison’s versatility was one of the main reasons Spurs signed him.

“Yeah,” replied Conte. “Today I’ve seen a lot of positive things about Richy.

“The first half he played like a number nine and the second half he played on the right, behind the striker.

“I think he can play in all these three positions.

“I think he is strong physically and a good personality, good character, good quality.

“For sure also for Richy in this period he is working and we are working on the tactical aspects with him because he has to go into our idea.

“At the same time we have to work on the physical aspects for him to be fit.

“But for sure he is a player that gives me important positions up front.

“He’s a player that is a good player, strong and very good to protect the ball and attack the space.

“Also he made a good assist, I’m very happy that we signed him.”

Tottenham are next in action on Saturday when they face Sevilla at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.