Antonio Conte: 'Tottenham Hotspur weakened in January transfer window'

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has claimed that his squad was "weakened" in January despite the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus.

Kulusevski has joined Spurs on an initial loan deal, while Bentancur completed a permanent move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the North London outfit paying in the region of £17m.

Four players departed the club during the winter transfer window, though, with Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil leaving on loan, while Dele Alli made the switch to Everton.

Despite the arrival of two new signings, Conte has claimed that the squad was "weakened", while the Italian also admitted that Spurs are lacking experience.

"What happened in January was not easy," Conte told Sky Italia. "We lost four players - four important players for Tottenham - and we brought in only two. So even just in terms of numbers, rather than reinforce the squad, we, on paper, may have 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 is the issue.

"This is the vision and the philosophy of the club. It is inevitable that, if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more rapidly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the overall team. But I repeat, I have realised now that this is the vision of the club."

Tottenham have lost their last three Premier League matches, which has left them in eighth spot in the table, seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand.