Tottenham transfer chiefs have been warned that they did not do enough to improve Antonio Conte’s squad in the January transfer window and that it could come back to bite them.
Spurs were linked with numerous players during the winter window, with Conte tipped to bring in at least three or four new names in the club’s chase for a top-four finish.
A new centre-back, potentially a replacement for error-strewn keeper Hugo Lloris and a No.10 were all mooted as positions of need. However, Tottenham only ended up bringing in a back-up forward in Arnaut Danjuma and their top right wing-back target Pedro Porro.
Danjuma did make an immediate impression when he scored on his debut against Preston in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, deadline day addition Porro is expected to be a major upgrade on the right-side of Conte’s midfield.
However, Tottenham insider John Wenham was clearly not that impressed with the overall business.
He told Football Insider: “We needed more than what we got.
“Once again we did not go out and buy a number 10. I get that Conte might say he doesn’t want one or need one for the way he plays. But if we are going to go deep in the FA Cup and in Europe then it would be nice to have that lock-picker on the bench to change the game.
“I also see the argument for adding another centre-back. If the position of the club is that we can’t get a left-sided centre-back right now who would be an improvement on Lenglet and Davies, then fair enough.
“I feel like a goalkeeper had to come in as well. We got our number one target over the line but because we didn’t go and get those other signings. This window cannot be considered more than a five out of 10.
“Glaring errors were overlooked. That could be problematic for us as the season goes on.”
Lloris on the hot seat in summer
The addition of a new keeper was always going to be a summer thing, especially given that Lloris is the club skipper and is still in contract.
As for a new centre-back, the main problem there was that none of the club’s top three targets were available in January.
Josko Gvardiol, Alessandro Bastoni and Piero Hincapie all are all known to be on Conte’s radar as he looks to bolster a backline that has proved leaky at times this season.
Adding a midfielder playmaker would also mean having to alter Conte’s 3-4-3 formation, which he is loathed to do.
