Tottenham cannot afford to repeat ‘big mistakes’ with transfers, Antonio Conte admits

Tottenham’s club-record signing of Tanguy Ndombele didn’t pan out

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte passed a scathing judgment on his club’s recent history in the transfer market, saying they made “big mistakes” that cannot be repeated.

Spurs offloaded four high-profile players on deadline day, including their two most expensive buys and one they bought for £25million in the summer.

Club record signing Tanguy Ndombele, who cost £55million in 2019, returned to Lyon on loan while £42million signing Giovani Lo Celso headed to Villarreal for the rest of the season.

Bryan Gil, who only arrived in the summer, headed to Valencia on loan until the end of the campaign while Dele Alli signed for Everton on an initial free transfer, with add-ons that could go up to £40million.

Conte said it was “strange” and shows that Spurs got their recruitment wrong.

“It was strange because it means something went wrong in the past,” he said. “It was strange, I repeat in January to send four on loan, and sell one player.

“It means maybe in the past, you have to see what you did. And maybe to understand that there were some mistakes in the past.

“Because usually you have to buy players to reinforce your team. But if you send away players on loan you bought in the last two or three years, it means maybe you did something wrong in the past.

“Honestly, before arriving at Tottenham, to read the list of players you have in the squad, I considered all the players are important players, no? Because Ndombele we paid a lot for and it was the same for Lo Celso and Gil.

“Then only when you’re in the situation, you understand very well which is the best solution for the club and for the players in this moment. Usually you buy players to reinforce