EPL: My team is weakened – Antonio Conte slams Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur manager, Antonio Conte, has slammed the club’s transfer activities in January, saying that his team has been left ‘weakened’.

During the January transfer window, Tottenham sent Tanguy Ndombele back to Lyon, while Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil signed for Valencia and Villarreal, respectively.

Dele Alli signed for Premier League rivals Everton and Jack Clarke went on loan to Sunderland.

However, Tottenham brought in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus, two players who had failed to impress at the Serie A giants.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Manchester City on Saturday, Conte said, “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’s the issue.

“This is the vision and the philosophy of the club.

“It’s inevitable that if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more quickly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the team as a whole.”

Tottenham currently sit in the eighth position on the Premier League table with seven points off the Champions League spots.