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Tottenham must use January window to show Antonio Conte they are still the right club for him

Tottenham Hotspur had a difficult enough job persuading Antonio Conte to join them in the first place, but now it seems the North London club must convince their own manager some more that they can give him a platform to achieve success. They must use the January transfer window to do this.

Conte only signed an 18-month contract when he agreed to become Spurs manager last year, meaning he will become a free agent at the end of the 2022/23 season. The club does have an option to extend the Italian’s contract by another year, but it’s not clear what the exact terms of that clause is.

As one of the best managers of his generation, Conte is the one in a position of power. He would surely have other options should he depart Tottenham this summer while there’s no guarantee the North London club would be able to attract another manager of the 53-year-old’s calibre as his replacement.

Spurs made progress under Conte last season. They qualified for the Champions League when few gave them a chance of finishing in the Premier League’s top four and many expected further steps to be taken this term. Some even predicted Tottenham would challenge for the title with Conte at the helm.

While Spurs are comfortable in fourth place, that is unlikely to materialise and that raises questions about Conte’s ceiling at the club. After all, this is a manager accustomed to challenging for the biggest titles and honours in the sport. If he can’t do this at Tottenham Hotspur, what is the incentive for him to stick around?

January presents Tottenham with an opportunity to strengthen their squad further. A number of new additions were made in the summer window, but Conte clearly still believes he is lacking in a number of key areas. It’s not necessarily about spending a lot of money. However, Spurs must find the right players.

Boxing Day’s whirlwind 2-2 draw against Brentford extended a pattern of Spurs falling behind in matches with Conte’s team conceding the first goal in each of their last nine matches in all competitions. This is linked to Tottenham’s relative weakness in midfield with Conte unable to set up his side to control games. They lack the players to do that.

In an attacking sense, Spurs are well-equipped. They have Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min as the most effective front two in the Premier League and Dejan Kulusevski as a creative force. Richarlison’s signing from Everton in the summer window even gave Tottenham depth across all positions in the frontline.

However, it’s a different story in midfield and defence where Conte needs a pass-master to use in the centre of the pitch and another elite level centre back to provide security at the back. The addition of these two players would significantly elevate the quality of Tottenham Hotspur’s squad and raise the ceiling on what they can achieve.

“We will try to do something, but we have to follow the club’s vision,” Conte said when asked whether Spurs would be active in the January transfer window. “Tottenham want to invest on young players, as we did with Kulusevski and Bentancur. Talents but with accessible salaries. This is what we’ll try to do.”

The appointment of Conte was an ambitious one for Spurs and now it’s time for them to give their manager a squad that will make his hiring worthwhile. January, and the deals done during the transfer window, will be pivotal in determining the short and long-term future for Tottenham Hotspur and their manager.