Billed as a do-or-die opportunity to add quality to Antonio Conte's squad, in the end Tottenham's transfer window was more striking for departures than arrivals.
Spurs made two signings – one short of Conte's desired three – in midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and forward Dejan Kulusevski, both from Juventus, but offloaded four attackers in a ruthless deadline-day cull.
Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele all departed on loan, while Dele Alli joined Everton in an eleventh-hour deal.
Conte is left with a smaller but more harmonious squad, who should all be settled and fully committed to the head coach's punishing methods.
The club displayed a novel ruthlessness in offloading the quartet, with Dele moving to Goodison Park on an initial free transfer and Ndombele returning to Lyon for a loan fee of just £1.18million, as Spurs prioritised clearing the decks over financials.
For Spurs to loan out Ndombele and Lo Celso, who each cost £55million, and allow Dele to leave permanently rather than try to rediscover his form on a temporary deal was a significant show of faith in Conte, suggesting the club is aware that the Italian is currently their biggest asset.
Whether a result of learning from their mistakes or the influence of managing director Fabio Paratici, the approach was a welcome change given their past tendency to hold on to unwanted players for too long, and should improve the spirit of a squad which has been beset by discontent and division for years.
There are hopes that Gil, 20, still has a Spurs future and the Spaniard will return to the club from Valencia at the end of the season, although Lo Celso and Ndombele could also be back, with Villarreal and Lyon, respectively, having not agreed to obligations to buy.
The argument that Spurs have reduced their squad depth only holds true if Conte had been prepared to keep picking Lo Celso, Ndombele and Dele, which was no guarantee, and the club's controversial European exit means an easier schedule in the second half of the season.
Kulusevski and Bentancur are both smart additions, even if Luis Diaz and Adama Traore – who rejected Spurs in favour of Liverpool and Barcelona, respectively, in an embarrassing 24 hours for the London club – would have been more exciting signings.
Paratici signing two players from his former club – both of whom he bought for Juve in the first place – may lack imagination but in a tough market Spurs have benefitted from having an experienced operator with strong links to a European heavyweight.
Top-four rivals Arsenal and West Ham, who struggled to improve their squads, would have valued having a director of football able to strike canny deals with his ex-employer.
Kulusevski, a versatile 21-year-old forward, offers Conte options across the frontline and looks better suited to English football than Gil, while Bentancur will add quality and experience to the midfield.
Conte rates both players and, crucially, is not a fussy coach, which made it easier for Paratici to line up multiple deals in the final days of the month.
Conte's priority was new signings who would follow his instructions to the letter and give him everything, which allowed Paratici to quickly move on from the losses of Diaz and Adama, ensuring Spurs did not end the month empty handed and justifying his plate-spinning approach.
Paratici’s scattergun, deals-based approach is justifiable in January, which is never an easy market.
He could not, however, sign Conte the new right wing-back he desperately wanted after the Adama deal collapsed. Spurs explored moves for Yannick Carrasco and Djed Spence, while Brighton's Tariq Lamptey is likely to be considered in the summer.
Spurs also failed to sign an understudy to Harry Kane and an injury to the England captain remains a prospect for which they are woefully unprepared, even if Steven Bergwijn, who was the subject of interest from Ajax last month, is considered a possible deputy up-front. They also remain worryingly short of quality cover at centre-half.
Paratici's scattergun, deals-based approach is justifiable in January, which is never an easy market, although the jury remains out on the managing director, who needs Kulusevski and Bentancur to quickly adapt to English football and ultimately be more successful than his signings last summer.
In the summer ahead, though, Spurs must adopt a more proactive and joined-up approach in the market to systematically address the weakness in Conte's squad.
In the meantime, Conte will continue to push for a place in the top four with a hungrier and more streamlined group. Although, if Spurs are to keep their head coach happy, January can only be the start of the surgery to his squad.
