Topics: Antonio Conte, Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil, Jack Clarke, Tottenham, FA Cup
Four players left the club on loan in January, with the Italian tactician blaming this on mistakes from the past.

Tottenham were one of the more active teams in the recent January transfer window, with Spurs signing two players last month. However, the north London giants also let a number of players go in an attempt to balance the books.

While this is the necessary evil of running a football club, this raised a few alarm bells for Antonio Conte. Speaking ahead of their highly-anticipated FA Cup showdown with Brighton, the Italian head coach openly criticized the Premier League club's decision to send four players out on loan despite needing reinforcements.

"For sure, it was strange. It was strange to send on loan, and sell one player, in the January transfer window," Conte said ahead of their 4th round clash with the Seagulls.

"It was strange because it means something went wrong in the past.

"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."

So who were the players to depart from London? Tanguy Ndombele, the club's record signing, was on this list, with the French midfielder returning to Lyon after struggling to impress since arriving in the English capital back in 2019. Additionally, Dele Alli, who had dropped down the pecking order, left to Everton on a permanent deal while Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil, and Jack Clarke were the other members loaned out, joining Villarreal, Valencia, and Sunderland respectively.

However, as mentioned above, the winter window was not all about exits. Tottenham made two key additions in the form of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, with both men joining form Juventus.

Conte spoke highly of their arrival. Kulusevski, in particular, will offer Spurs a lot of versatility, with the Italian boss admitting that the Swede can play as both a no.10 and a wing-back.

Both signings are available for their upcoming clash with Brighton. The gaffer stated that neither will start as they are yet to get a grasp with their new environment, but a short cameo off the bench is possible as Tottenham look to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League.