Antonio Conte gives brutal interview about Tottenham’s transfer window

Antonio Conte has slammed Tottenham’s transfer window by saying his squad has “weakened on paper” and said that he now realises “the vision of the club”.

January proved a frustrating month for Conte and Spurs, who missed out on two of their top targets in Luis Diaz and Adama Traore, with the pair signing for Liverpool and Barcelona respectively.

Tottenham did end up signing Juventus duo Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, who played in the defeats to Southampton and Wolves. However, four players left the club last month.

Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil were all loaned out, while Dele Alli left permanently when he joined Everton on deadline day.

Spurs have lost both of their Premier League games since the window closed, damaging their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

Conte spoke honestly about Tottenham’s fortunes in January and said it “was not easy” and complained not only about losing four players and only signing two, but is concerned about their lack of experienced players, with Kulusevski and Bentancur 21 and 24 respectively.

The Tottenham boss told Sky Sport Italia: “What happened in January was not easy. We lost four players in January. Four important players for Tottenham, and we brought in only two.

“So even just in terms of numbers, rather than reinforce the squad, we on paper weakened it. Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham, because Tottenham are seeking young players they can develop and grow, not players who are ready.

“That is the issue. This is the vision and the philosophy of the club. It is inevitable that if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more rapidly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the overall team. But I repeat, I have realised now that this is the vision of the club.”