Antonio Conte refused to say how close Christian Eriksen came to re-joining Tottenham this summer, but admitted he would like to work with the playmaker again.
Eriksen became a key part of Conte’s Serie A winning side at Inter Milan after leaving Spurs in 2020 and was linked with a reunion in north London when his short-term contract at Brentford expired last summer.
The Dane instead joined Manchester United and could face his former side - and former boss - when the two sides meet at Old Trafford on Wednesday, though he is an injury doubt.
Asked whether he considered a move for Eriksen this summer, Conte said: “Yes, but I think you know I don’t want to speak about players of other teams.
“For sure, Christian is a player I enjoyed working with him, he is a player I would like to train again and have in my squad, but you know very well that the transfer market is very difficult.
“He made a big choice to go to United and sign [a contract] for three years. For him, I wish the best for him and for his family - apart from the game against us - [and] for the rest of the season to be the best on the pitch.
“Now it’s not important to tell you yes or no [on whether he came close to joining] but Christian was a player that every club tried to bring into the team.”
Meanwhile, Conte paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, who earlier this month reached the remarkable landmark of 700 club career goals, but says he is praying to avoid a repeat of last season’s 3-2 defeat to United when the Portuguese scored a sensational hat-trick.
“We are talking about an amazing player, a top player,” he added. “We are talking about a player who is continuing to make a difference in the team he is playing.
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“Cristiano, with [Lionel] Messi, they made the story of football in the last 15 years. Every single word is not good enough to explain the greatness of these players.
“I have great admiration for Cristiano, for his professionalism but I hope tomorrow to stay calm, not like last season. Last season, we lost 3-2, but we lost against him, not against United last season. I remember very well because we played a good game and he solved the situation alone.”
