Antonio Conte is displeased with Tottenham Hotspur’s attempts to strengthen the team in the January transfer window, saying that they might have instead weakened the squad.
The Italian has admitted his displeasure at how things panned out during the winter window. Chasing several targets but ending up with just two, the manager believes that in terms of numbers, the team weakened itself in the window. His claims came after his Spurs had lost three league games in a row.
Tottenham’s last 5 results
| Date | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| January 19 | Premier League | Leicester City | 3-2 |
| January 23 | Premier League | Chelsea | 0-2 |
| February 5 | FA Cup | Brighton | 3-1 |
| February 9 | Premier League | Southampton | 2-3 |
| February 13 | Premier League | Wolverhampton | 0-2 |
“What happened in January is not easy. Four players left in January. Four important players for Tottenham, two have arrived,”
“So even numerically instead of strengthening yourself, you may have, on paper, weakened.”
he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Tottenham attempted to bring Adama Traore over from Wolves for much of the January window, only to be trumped by FC Barcelona at the last moment.
Spurs also went after Porto’s Luis Diaz, who, seeing as he was a key target for them, Liverpool stole from under their noses. The North London side also failed in its attempt to sign Ollie Tanner from non-league side Lewes – likely a target for their reserve sides than the first team.
However, Tottenham did pull off a late double deal for Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. Conte labeled them as the ideal prospects for Spurs but claimed that to grow faster, you need to sign players with experience.
“If you want to grow faster and if you want to be competitive faster you need players with a lot of experience,”
“Bentancur and Kulusevski are the ideal prospects for Tottenham. Because Tottenham is looking for young players, players to be developed, not ready players.”
he said.
Kulusevski and Bentancur both featured in Spurs’ 2-0 loss at home to Wolverhampton the previous weekend. The Uruguayan started the game and was partly culpable for Wolves’ second goal, while the Swede entered the pitch as a first-half tactical substitute with Conte’s Champions League-chasing side down by two goals.
