We are now at the beginning of a defining two-week period for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. What happens over the course of the next 14 days could well make or break Spurs' season and duly impact Antonio Conte's future in the process.
On the pitch, Tottenham face some crucial games as they look to bounce back from their North London Derby defeat against Arsenal last Sunday. Travelling to reigning Premier League champions Man City on Thursday night, in-form Fulham, a potential FA Cup banana skin away at Championship side Preston North End and another game against Pep Guardiola's men are on the agenda.
Off the pitch, Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici need to get things right in the transfer market with Spurs so far yet to bring anyone in this month. Transforming the team 12 months ago with deals for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, the Lilywhites need to do similar this time around after slipping out of the top four.
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As Conte's future is very much in the air as he is so far refusing to commit to Tottenham beyond the end of the season, failure in the January transfer market will only see talk surrounding his position at the club intensify to new levels. So what exactly are Levy's options when it comes to Conte and the January transfer market? football.london takes a look.
Stick with Conte and back him
Tottenham fans are desperate for the club to make new signings this month, and so is Conte. Having boosted the numbers in the summer with the arrival of six new players for the 2022/23 campaign, now it is about adding the quality to help the team go up a level or two.
Tottenham quite clearly need to upgrade a number of positions in the starting XI, most notably the right wing-back role and at centre-back. Another attacking player certainly would not go amiss as Lucas Moura has spent the majority of the season on the sidelines and he will be departing the club at the end of the campaign.
The Italian has proved time and time again in his managerial career that he can win trophies if he is sufficiently backed in the transfer market. Already boasting a top-class manager in Conte at the club, Levy and Tottenham need to give him exactly what he wants in the transfer window to give him the best possible chance of ending their trophy drought.
It may cost Spurs millions in the transfer market but it would be money well spent if trophies are to follow and they start to challenge at the top of the Premier League once again. If Levy and Co. want Conte to carry on in the Tottenham job for the foreseeable future then they simply have to back him. It will only go one way if not.
Don't back Conte and carry on
Tottenham supporters, and perhaps Conte, maybe fear that the club are not going to do enough in the transfer market this month with no new signings in through the door at present. Apart from Chelsea splashing the cash like it is going out of fashion, it has been a quiet transfer window so far but it will no doubt pick up over the next week or so as the end of the month is fast approaching.
Tottenham's up-and-down form coupled with doubts over Conte's future means they are in limbo at present and it has raised plenty of questions in the process. If they do not do enough in the January market and saunter along as they are at present then it's hard to see the Italian sticking about.
If that is the case a Champions League finish is going to look extremely unlikely as Manchester United and Newcastle United are in great form and look on course to join Arsenal and Man City in the top four come May. Fans are already unhappy about what is happening at the football club, with a large number believing that the club should have done much more in the summer to satisfy Conte.
The discontent will only rumble on and grow to new levels if nothing is done in January and the team just continue to meander through the rest of the campaign. Tottenham simply will not advance unless they are sufficiently backed in the transfer market, which was very much the case in 2018/19 as they stood still when their rivals strengthened on the transfer front and duly progressed.
Don't back Conte and part ways
Amid big questions over Conte's future in the capital beyond the end of the season, there may be a feeling at the club of not wanting to spend money on players for a manager who might not be at the helm next term. While the potential incoming players could fit Conte's system and be what he needs right now, there is no guarantee that they would be in his replacement's plans if he bids farewell to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer.
Given his refusal to so far commit to the club beyond the 2022/23 campaign, many fans feel that he will be exiting Tottenham at the end of the term regardless. Conte himself will probably feel that he should also move on if he is not adequately backed in the transfer market and given all the necessary tools required to win a trophy for the club.
That would see Tottenham back at square once again and on the search for a fourth manager since Mauricio Pochettino's departure back in November 2019. If Spurs aren't going to back him in the January transfer market, a parting of ways come the summer could be inevitable.
That would in turn give Spurs the opportunity to reset, devise a plan of what exactly they want the club to be going forward and stick to it as appointing proven winners has yet to see them achieve their lofty ambitions.
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