Opinion: Evaluating Tottenham’s January transfer window in more detail

Some people have said Tottenham’s January transfer window was brilliant and others have said the complete opposite.

While fans can let emotions override logic, it’s fair to say Spurs’ dealings were somewhere in the middle of the two opinions.

The window could have gone better but it also could have gone worse. The club spent a little over €30 million, the fifth most in the Premier League and the eighth-most in Europe (The Sporting News).

A number of players also left, indicating Daniel Levy and his staff tried to act in a month that often proves difficult for business.

The most obvious place to start is the saga of Adama Traore. Tottenham showed interest in the right-winger last summer but Wolves’ evaluation of £40 million saw that interest develop no further (Telegraph).

However, having fallen out of favour with newly appointed manager, Bruno Lage, the club were now willing to let the 25-year-old go for half of the fee they wanted six months prior.

Despite the already significant discount, Spurs submitted a bid for £15 million- five million less than the asking price (Sky Sports).

While it was reported they would meet the £20 million soon after and personal terms were agreed with Traore, another bid never came (The Sun). The delay allowed Barcelona to swoop in and take him on loan until the end of the season.

It’s possible the Spaniard never wanted to join North London, simply using Tottenham to leverage a deal back to his boyhood club. It was also reported that he wasn’t keen on the idea of playing wing-back (Football Daily).

Nevertheless, it’s disappointing to lose out on Traore, a player Antonio Conte likely wanted and one who would have made an impact.

You can’t help but feel that there’s a bit of irony in the situation, having brought Emerson Royal from Barcelona who are now replacing him with someone we wanted to replace him with. Madness!

Another talent the club missed out on was winger Luis Diaz. The Diaz deal followed a similar pattern to the Traore one. Porto had a release clause on the winger worth around €80m (ESPN).

After negotiations, Spurs submitted a bid of €45 million with add-ons (ESPN). The Portuguese club rejected the bid and as Levy and his staff prepared another offer, Liverpool snatched the winger for €40 million with add-ons potentially taking the deal to €60 million (The Guardian).

The 25-year-old is one of Europe’s hottest prospects, with 14 goals and five assists in 18  Primeira Liga appearances this season (Transfermarkt).

The tricky winger is set to be a sensation, already assisting a goal in his debut against Cardiff (Sky Sports) and looking bright on his Premier League debut. Another player missed out on and a feeling that is becoming uncomfortably familiar for Spurs fans.

As an insurance to the Traore and Diaz deals falling through, Tottenham looked to sign Sofyan Amrabat from Serie A side Fiorentina (The Guardian).

While Conte liked the midfielder, it came as a surprise considering the Moroccan hadn’t started a league fixture all season (Transfermarkt). Despite the deal reaching advanced stages, Levy eventually had a change of heart and focused his efforts elsewhere.

Having been linked for a number of months, there was talks of AC Milan midfielder, Franck Kessie, joining the club (The Telegraph).

While nothing materialised, his contract runs out at the end of the season. Having garnered attention from several European clubs, Spurs will likely join the race to get him on a free transfer this upcoming summer.

Tottenham were also linked with starlet Djed Spence (Sky Sports). The 21-year-old right-back, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, caught the attention of the North London club with his consistent performances this season.

Spence most recently scored in Forest’s 4-1 victory over Leicester City this past weekend. The London native will likely be another player Spurs look at again in the summer.

Although Levy and his staff failed to sign their main targets, they did eventually make two deadline day signings. The first being Dejan Kulusevski.

The Swedish international has been signed on an 18-month loan, which could become a permanent deal of £29 million if Spurs finish in the top four this season (The Sun).

Kulusevski has played nearly 100 Serie A games for Juventus and on loan at Parma, despite being just 21-years-old. He was also crowned Serie A Best Young Player for the 2019-20 season, where he tallied 10 goals and eight assists (Transfermarkt).

While he is still young and will have to adjust to the pace of the Premier League, this signing finally fills the void of a creative midfielder. Kulusevski likes to get on the ball and create things, something Tottenham desperately need. A solid signing with a lot of promise.

Spurs also bought in Kulusevski’s Juventus teammate, Rodrigo Bentancur. The defensive-midfielder has signed a four-and-half-year deal worth £16 million. The 24-year-old is already a seasoned winner, having won three Serie A titles and being instrumental in the last two.

While being defensively minded, Bentancur has the ability to carry the ball forward and start attacks for his team. Like Kulusevski, the Uruguayan will take time to adjust to the English game but will certainly add another dimension to Tottenham’s midfield.

The signings should come as no surprise to fans with the club’s managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, having left Juventus for Spurs this past summer.

Conte has also managed Juventus, the Italian national team and Inter Milan in the past. The two Italians will likely look to bring in a number of other players from the Serie A in the future.

The club’s eagerness for some players to leave was what created space for the two Juve boys to join. The most notable player to go was club-record signing, Tanguy Ndombele.

Tottenham brought the midfielder from Lyon for a staggering £62 million in the summer of 2019 (Sky Sports). Since then he’s failed to live up to his price tag, struggling to stay fit and string consistent performances together.

Having played a total of just 80 minutes in the league since Conte joined at the start of November, the club took the initiative to loan him out this window.

Ndombele eventually joined his former club Lyon until the end of the season. The deal has an option to buy but the fee is upwards of £50 million, which will unlikely be paid by the French club (Sky Sports).

A player in a similar situation is Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentine has been sent to Europa League winners Villarreal on a six-month loan (Daily Mail). He started his time at Tottenham on a season-long loan a month after Ndombele joined.

After the year, having shown his potential, his deal was made permanent for a sizeable fee of £27 million (Standard). Since then he’s continued to show flashes of his ability but, like Ndombele, failed to find any real consistency.

While he has struggled with a number of injuries, most recently a knee injury this season, the 25-year-old hasn’t shown enough for Conte to keep him.

The club have acted appropriately, letting players go who aren’t consistent in their attitude and performances for Spurs. However, they will both likely return in the summer.

Like this window, Levy and his staff should make no hesitation in finding both players permanent moves as Tottenham look to build without them.

While the same applies to Dele Alli, there’s certainly a bitter-sweet feeling as the once ‘starboy’ joins Everton. Alli has signed for the Toffees on a two-and-half-year deal, becoming Frank Lampard’s first permanent signing.

Everton have paid nothing upfront but the fee could reach £40 million with a series of add-ons, the first being £10 million after he makes 20 appearances for the club (The Sun).

It’s hard to know where to start with Dele. He joined Spurs at the ripe age of 19 and by 22 had already played 100 Premier League games. Within his first 63 appearances, he had 40 goal contributions (Transfermarkt).

To say he burst onto the scene would be an understatement, no one had quite seen a player of Dele’s age ‘boss’ the league like he did. Not only was he great on the pitch but he had an exciting aura about him- a complete embodiment of Tottenham and its fans.

Dele thrived under Pochettino, who was sacked in November 2019 and replaced by Jose Mourinho. Dele soon fell out of form and struggled to find his old self that season.

The next year he was neglected by Mourinho, not appearing in a matchday squad for over 10 fixtures (Transfermarkt).

He showed flashes of his old self under Nuno Espirito Santos and Conte but never got back to true Dele.

Since the departure of Poch, his commitment has been questionable at times, which has seen fans want him to go. Although it is the right move for Dele and the club, it is certainly a sad one.

From a former ‘starboy’ to a potential new one, Bryan Gil follows Lo Celso to Spain as he joins Valencia until the end of the season. Gil is very much for the future and the loan is motivated by giving the winger more game time.

Club captain, Hugo Lloris, signed a two-year contract extension which will keep him in-between the sticks for Spurs until 2024.

Having dissected Tottenham’s January transfer window, it’s clear to see it was a fairly average one. Levy acted decisively in moving the appropriate players on as Conte looks to shape his squad. The club also did well to make two promising signings on deadline day.

However, losing out on Traore and Diaz is just typical Tottenham. Haggling over every pound to get the best deal on a player, no matter how much the club want him.

This must change under Conte. The Italian is a proven winner and a world-class manager. If he isn’t backed he will walk, which will question the appointment in the first place. While the window wasn’t terrible, let’s hope the club can improve on it and support Conte in his success.

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