ANTONIO CONTE felt it would have been selfish to keep Harry Winks at Tottenham this season.
The Spurs midfielder, 26, sealed a season-long loan at Italian outfit Sampdoria after his work permit arrived last night.
Yves Bissouma’s arrival in North London from Brighton shunted Winks down the pecking order.
Conte said: “If I wanted to be selfish I’d say maybe it’s more convenient for Winks to stay.
“Five strong midfielders, with Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bissouma, [Oliver] Skipp and Winksy, for me that is OK.
“Players want to play regularly. They want to try to have a different challenge.
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“Sometimes it doesn’t depend only on the club or the coach.”
Winks has been with Spurs since the age of five but is without a Prem start since February.
Conte added: “Last season he played with us and he played well. It is a good opportunity for Sampdoria, especially.
“They are getting a really good player. And also for Harry, to go outside of England and play in an important league. It will be good. Then next season we will see.”
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Spurs face London rivals West Ham tonight, who have just one win and one goal from four games.
Conte said: “Last season they reached the Europa League semi-final.
“We are talking about a team with great experience. Players with good ability and good talent and they spent good money to become stronger. David Moyes is one of the coaches with the most experience in this league.”
Spurs have sealed a £42.5m deal to sign Cristian Romero on a permanent basis after the Argentina ace, 24, helped them into the Champions League on loan last season.
Earnings from that will dwarf the fee paid to Atalanta for the defender, who signed a five-year deal.
Full-back Sergio Reguilon joined LaLiga side Atletico Madrid for the season with no buy option.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
