(Football news) The winter transfer window has slammed shut. Clubs usually find it difficult to sign players in this window. There are a few clubs who have done some good business in this specific window and Tottenham Hotspur is certainly one of them. It comes as no surprise as it was very evident that they were going to spend money as soon as they appointed Antonio Conte.
It has been a very strange season for Spurs. They appointed Fabio Paratici as their Managing Director of Football. Paratici previously had the same role with Inter Milan. Tottenham took way too much time and saw a lot of candidates for their vacant managerial post before the season and one of the managers who reportedly rejected the club was Conte. Spurs eventually appointed former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo. After winning the first 3 Premier League games, Spurs dipped in form as Nuno wasn't able to get the best out of his players. He also didn't have the right system and was eventually sacked after which Spurs worked out things with Conte and appointed him as their manager.
Even though Conte has done a decent job, he hasn't taken Spurs into the top 4. Conte was always clear in the press conferences that he will want new players. Tottenham have gone big in this window as they completed an incredible double signing of Juventus pair Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski. Spurs sent their record signing Tanguy Ndombele back to Lyon on loan with an option to buy. Spurs also agreed loan deals for Bryan Gill to Valencia and Giovanni Lo Celso to Villarreal and sold Dele Alli to Everton. On paper, Spurs have played their cards perfectly.
Rodrigo Bentancur is a proper box to box midfielder and can fit perfectly into Antonio Conte's system. He will be competing with the likes of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp in the starting lineup. The signing of Kulusevski is very interesting as the Swedish international is a work horse who covers a lot of ground and can play anywhere in midfield and on either flank. Last season, Andrea Pirlo used him as a 2nd striker along with Ronaldo to press higher and do all the running. With Harry Kane and Son Heung-min taking up 2 spots in the front three, Kulusevski could slot straight into the third one ahead of Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn.
Conte knows the two new signings from his time in the Serie A. Spurs are currently 7th on the Premier League table and they will enter the top four if they win their games in hand which sounds a lot easier than it is. Spurs have backed Conte in this window and now it is his time to get results. If Conte manages to get top 4 this season and then gets a few more signings in the summer he could take Spurs to the very top where they were with Mauricio Pochettino. The first part however is getting top 4 which will be very difficult.
Also read: Three things Frank Lampard has to do to be a success with Everton
