Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has levelled the blame for the club’s January transfer troubles on chairman Daniel Levy.
Spurs signed Juventus pair Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski on deadline day, but had a swathe of deals end in failure earlier in the window.
According to the Daily Mail, Spurs were first in line to sign both Adama Traore and Luis Diaz but were unable to complete the deals leaving both to move to Barcelona and Liverpool instead.
While incoming transfers are the responsibility of Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici, Conte’s main frustration is said to be towards Levy due to him being in charge of the club’s transfer budget.
Conte has been very vocal about his need to sign players and overhaul the squad in order to get it to the level required to compete for trophies. He was particularly vocal about his need to sign a right wing-back but this was ultimately another unsuccessful mission for Spurs in the window.
Both Kulusevski and Bentancur played in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round, coming on as substitutes in the 68th and 77th minute respectively.
Spurs are looking to return to playing Champions League football and will need to break into the Premier League top four in order to do so.