The January transfer window has come and gone. Tottenham Hotspur made plenty of moves as there were arrivals and departures for the north London club.
Spurs saw more players exit with Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Bryan Gil, and Giovani Lo Celso all finding new clubs last month. However, the Premier League club did bring in Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
However, manager Antonio Conte has an issue with four players who featured in his rotation and only brought in two players to replace them. Conte says it was a problematic window for Tottenham but understands the club’s focus is finding and developing young players.
“Two came in, so in numerical terms, instead of strengthening, on paper, the squad was weakened,” Conte said in an interview with Sky Italy. “Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham because the club is after young players who can improve and develop, rather than players who are the finished article. That’s the story here.
“That’s the link. That’s the club’s vision and philosophy. It’s inevitable that if you want to improve faster and want to be competitive faster, you need more experienced players because they boost the experience levels among the team. As I’ve said, I understood that was the club’s vision here.”
Tottenham will have to commit to making significant investments that satisfy Conte, who demands a lot from the clubs he has worked for in the past.
Furthermore, if the Italian tactician doesn’t see things going the way he wants, the 52-year-old isn’t afraid to leave, as he showed last summer when Inter Milan wanted to cut back spending.