January Transfer Window: A recap of Tottenham Hotspur's winter business | Premier League 2019-20

Jose Mourinho will likely have mixed feelings on Tottenham's winter transfers
Jose Mourinho will likely have mixed feelings on Tottenham's winter transfers

Con: No new striker was signed

Spurs missed out on the signing of Krzysztof Piatek
Spurs missed out on the signing of Krzysztof Piatek

Right until the end of deadline day, Tottenham were looking to sign a striker in order to cover for the injured Harry Kane – and then provide a backup for the England captain when he returns. Unfortunately, no deals were able to be done, leaving Mourinho painfully short for the remainder of 2019-20.

Spurs were apparently interested in Krzysztof Piatek of AC Milan, Willian Jose of Real Sociedad and Olivier Giroud of Chelsea, and in all honesty, any of the three would’ve sufficed.

But Piatek ended up at Hertha Berlin due to Spurs’ unwillingness to look for a permanent deal rather than a loan one; they wouldn’t pony up enough money for Willian Jose, and Chelsea were unable to find their own replacement for Giroud – despite barely using the Frenchman.

Mourinho likely dodged a bullet when a last-minute attempt to sign the goal-shy Odion Ighalo fell through, but his club’s failure to provide him with a new target-man must irk him. Quite why Daniel Levy wasn’t willing to throw a few more million onto the table to get Willian Jose – who was definitely willing and available – will remain a mystery for some time.


Pro: Eriksen and Rose finally depart

Christian Eriksen has finally left Tottenham for Inter Milan
Christian Eriksen has finally left Tottenham for Inter Milan

It feels strange to suggest that any club would be celebrating the departure of two players who have been key members of their starting XI for the best part of a decade, but that was the case at Tottenham this winter as Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose left for pastures new.

Eriksen made a permanent move to Inter Milan for a fee of around £17m, while Rose made a loan move to Newcastle United, and although reports suggest the deal doesn’t include an option to buy, there are plenty of people who believe the England international has played his last game in a Tottenham shirt.

So why would Spurs be happy with these moves? Essentially, because both men have proven to be somewhat disruptive to the squad balance; Mourinho has stated that Eriksen remained professional prior to the move, but it can’t have been good for the rest of the side to have a want-away player amongst their ranks, given the Dane has been stating his desire to leave for some time.

Rose meanwhile has seemingly been unhappy at the club for some time, and there were plenty of rumours that he was the player who leaked an apparently false story to the press about the squad being unhappy with Mourinho.

Do Spurs have enough to cover both men’s departures? It’s debatable, but the truth is that the side will probably be better in their absence.

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