Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has hailed new Spurs head coach Antonio Conte as an 'absolutely outstanding manager', and has welcomed him back to the Premier League.
Conte left England in the summer of 2018 after two years at Chelsea. In his first year at Stamford Bridge, he pipped Guardiola's City to the Premier League title, before the Catalan's side became the first team in English top-flight history to break the 100-point barrier the following season.
After leaving Chelsea, Conte took a year out of the game before joining Inter in 2019, winning Serie A last season before a high-profile summer departure.
Conte was approached by Spurs in the summer but explained he was still too hung up on his departure from Inter to join at that time. However, he has now signed a deal running until 2023 after the club sacked Nuno Espirito Santo.
Guardiola was full of praise and admiration for the Italian at a press conference on Tuesday.
"First of all, welcome back to England, to the Premier League," Guardiola said.
"His career speaks perfectly for itself. He has had success everywhere. An absolutely outstanding manager."
Former Spurs defender Kyle Walker joined Guardiola for his pre-match presser ahead of City's Champions League tie with Club Brugge, and he too was complimentary of Tottenham's new head coach.
"I think Conte is a great manager, obviously. Hopefully, it's going to be a successful appointment for them," Walker added.
"Obviously it's been a tough couple of years with managers coming and going. I wish him and the club all the best."
Guardiola's City are one of only a handful of sides to lose to Tottenham so far this season. They were beaten in Nuno's first game in charge of Spurs, losing 1-0 in north London thanks to a Son Heung-min strike.
City were also on the hunt for Tottenham striker Harry Kane in the summer, but weren't able to get a deal over the line and the England captain remained at Spurs.
Source : 90min