Tottenham Hotspur's midfield has been given a January clean with some cleverly-struck transfer deadline day deals but there could yet be issues ahead with those leaving.
Antonio Conte made it very clear to the powers that be at Spurs which players he believed the club needed to move on this month and football.london understands that there was a focus on removing unhappy players from the dressing room who would not be regular starters this season under the head coach.
The Italian is keen to steer a happy, tight-knit ship as he looks to compete for a top four spot in the Premier League this campaign and managing director of football Fabio Paratici was tasked with moving the unwanted players on, with some simply not rated by Conte.
Tanguy Ndombele has headed back to where he came from in 2019 with a loan move to Lyon until the end of the season.
He does so with a £1.2m loan fee and an option to buy him back permanently for £54m.
The 25-year-old Frenchman's struggles to develop as a player and an inability to consistently fit into the Premier League's pace as well as the structure of the managers he had played under, is summed up by the fact that he is heading home rather than to one of the elite clubs he probably imagined as his next step.
If, and it's still a big if, Lyon take up that permanent option to sign him back in the summer then Spurs will recoup most of their money for a player who has shown glimpses of his ability but never consistently.
Dele Alli's Spurs career has dropped off a cliff after being seen as one of Europe's top prospects. A string of Tottenham managers have all struggled to find a place for him in their plans.
Now the 25-year-old is set to join Everton to play under their new manager Frank Lampard on an initial free transfer, but with conditions that include a £10m fee if he plays 20 matches for the Merseyside club and in all, if certain conditions are met, the total Spurs could recoup would be almost £40m.
However, it is worth pointing out that with Alli cup-tied in the FA Cup, he cannot reach those 20 games in the remainder of this season for Everton, meaning Spurs will not recoup any money for him until later this year, a move that may be deliberate after Everton's recent Financial Fair Play issues.
Newcastle have also been monitoring the situation with the former England international after failing to land Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.
Another 25-year-old, Giovani Lo Celso, who is currently on international duty with Argentina, has headed out of the exit door with Villarreal on a loan deal, also believed to be with an option to buy.
The Argentine has seen his time at Spurs fragmented by injuries and has never really lived up to the potential shown that earned him a permanent move from Real Betis two years ago this month.
Another player heading out on loan, but one Spurs believe has a long-term future at the club, is Bryan Gil.
The 20-year-old Spain international has joined Valencia on a six-month deal until the end of the season with no option to buy for a player who only arrived in north London six months ago.
There is a belief within the club that the youngster needs the regular football right now to continue his development ahead of a return to Spurs for next season.
With those four heading out, only two have been confirmed as coming in, both with meticulously negotiated deals between Paratici and his old club Juventus.
Conte specifically asked the club for a new central midfielder and he now has one in 24-year-old Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguayan has been a key midfield figure for Juventus, particularly their last Serie A title-winning season in 2019/20, and had his ball retention ability compared to that of Andres Iniesta by former boss Andrea Pirlo last year.
However, Bentancur, currently on international duty, has not found a natural fit in Pirlo's successor Massimiliano Allegri's system this term and Paratici sensed an opportunity and saw off competition from Aston Villa to sign the midfielder.
The deal will see Spurs pay the Turin club £15.86m, payable over three financial years, and that figure may increase by an additional £5m if certain objectives are met during the term of the Uruguayan's four-and-a-half year contract.
Another new face arriving from Juventus is 21-year-old Dejan Kulusevski, who has joined on an initial 18-month loan deal.
The Swede, named Serie A's young player of the year in 2020, brings versatility in being able to play on the right wing, as a central attacking midfielder or up front as an auxiliary striker.
Again, the deal for the attacker has been negotiated to the smallest detail with plenty of time for Spurs to pay the money involved.
Tottenham will pay £8.3m for the 18-month loan - £2.5m this season and £5.8m for next. There is also an obligation to buy the Sweden international permanently if certain sporting criteria are met and an option to still do so if not, both are for £29.2m, which is payable within five years.
It's a long-term try before you buy deal and if Kulusevski does impress in the Premier League then it's a fee that could be reasonable for a player his age.
The problem that lies ahead in the remainder of this season is that Conte's squad has been shorn of much of its creativity in one day.
When speaking about Steven Bergwijn to football.london this month, Conte made it clear that he had few creative options in his squad.
"For me he is an important player because he has characteristics that in our squad we don’t have many creative players," said the Spurs boss.
"He is very good in one vs one, good to beat the man. He can play striker, he can play number 10 and for us, for me, he is an important player and we have to try to improve, to become stronger, not to lose a player and become less strong."
Spurs rejected a bid from Ajax this month for the Dutchman but it is difficult to see how the club have improved their attacking options around him with their deadline day deals, whoever well structured some have been.
Kulusevski looks more physically suited to the Premier League than Gil currently is, but Conte has lost the forward momentum of Ndombele, Lo Celso and Alli without replacing them and the options on the bench could be light for Conte at times.
That could mean development squad players needing a loan, like versatile midfielder Harvey White, being required to remain at the club to flesh out the squad.
Conte has always said that he wants two players for every position and he could almost point to that, apart from up front, if he sees Japhet Tanganga as his back-up left-sided centre-back for now to Ben Davies.
Bentancur will bring another strong option in the centre of the midfield with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks, but whether he is the man to thread balls through to the attacking players remains to be seen.
Tottenham have lost all of their deeper lying playmakers, with the club's fans watching their most successful one of recent times - Christian Eriksen - heading to Brentford on Monday.
Spurs' priorities this window were to sign a central midfielder for Conte, an attacker and a right wing-back, with the need for another left-sided centre-back pushed to the summer.
Bentancur is the central midfielder, while Kulusevski is the attacker who can play up front if needed, at least temporarily until a natural striker can be signed in the summer.
Adama Traore had been the planned wing-back, albeit a converted one, until his old club Barcelona stepped in and his choice became clear.
With Matt Doherty at this moment looking likely to stay, Tottenham's wing-back options on the right remain in need of an upgrade.
While Conte's system does not rely too heavily on playmakers, more so on getting the ball quickly to the front three or two, it does put pressure on the wing-backs to get out wide and put quality crosses into the box, something the current options have struggled with.
At the back, there is understood to have been some interest in Joe Rodon this month from clubs in France, Spain and the Premier League, but nothing yet that has tempted Spurs or the player.
football.london understands that while Paratici is continuing to scour for opportunities in the market in the final hours of the window, and the club have not yet ruled out further movement, there is an expectation that, at this current moment, Bentancur and Kulusevski will be the only new faces this window.
While Conte will have a leaner, happier and hungrier squad for the rest of the season - without the extra fixtures of European competition - it's difficult to see this as a January window in which his options have been substantially improved, particularly if injuries or Covid cases strike.
