Antonio Conte is one of the most successful managers in modern football and knows what it takes to win titles.
Having won the Serie A with Juventus and the Premier League with Chelsea, Conte is also in a title race with Napoli.
The Italian also had previous experience of managing Tottenham Hotspur, where two current Leicester City stars, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp, were at the time.
In the end, both of those players, as well as Conte moved onto pastures new but one of those tipped for big things has failed to live up to the hype.
Conte predicted Oliver Skipp to be ‘important player’ for Spurs
Winks and Skipp both had an up-and-down spell after coming through Tottenham’s academy to play for the first team.
It would be Winks that would join Leicester first, signing in 2023 and helping the Foxes return to the top flight.
Skipp then joined last summer as Steve Cooper brought him in for £20m but it’s been a deal that has raised question marks.
It’s nothing like Conte tipped for the former England Under-21 international either, who was tipped for big things by his former manager.
After signing his new contract in 2022, the Italian told Tottenham’s club website: “I’m very happy for Skippy, because he’s not only a good player, but we are also talking about a fantastic guy.
“He plays with great intensity, great passion, with heart, with soul. We’re talking about an important prospect.
“I think that the present and the future depends on him. If he wants to become a top midfielder, he could become a top midfielder, but he has to continue to work.
“He has this will, this desire to become an important player for Tottenham and for the present and for the future.”
Skipp can’t get a game for Leicester
As wise as Conte is, it’s fair to say he missed the mark on this one.
Skipp has proved to be an awful signing so far and barely had a look in under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Leicester manager hasn’t even included him on the bench in the Foxes’ last two games and unless something drastic changes, his game time doesn’t look like it’ll be improving for the remainder of the season.
Maybe Championship football will be better suited to Skipp but, the midfielder has proven to be an expensive mistake so far.