Tottenham are set to go a year without signing a single first team player as another window comes to a close without an arrival.
It was deadline day in January 2018 when Lucas Moura arrived from PSG, but since then there have only been outgoings in north London.
One of the more significant departures from Hotspur Way this month was veteran midfielder Mousa Dembele who, after injury had hampered his performances and game time in a Spurs shirt, sealed a move to China.
While the emergence of Moussa Sissoko under Mauricio Pochettino this season has helped Tottenham deal with midfield injuries, Spurs have still been lacking someone to take hold of the game from midfield with the Frenchman and Harry Winks worked to the bone over the festive period.
Dembele is, admittedly, a hard man to replace. One of five players Pochettino has worked with he lists as a ‘genius’, ranking the midfielder alongside Diego Maradona, his former Paris Saint-Germain teammates Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay Okocha, and ex-Espanyol man Ivan de la Pena.
Harry Winks
An obvious, cheap, choice for Tottenham. The boyhood fan once compared to Andres Iniesta by Pochettino is getting back to his best after injury stalled his breakthrough season.
Already capped by England and having shone on the biggest of stages against Real Madrid last term, he’s certainly a midfielder capable of handling the big occasion.
Winks, 22, is capable, like Dembele, of being deployed in a number of roles in midfield, whether that be dictating the tempo from deep, or looking to link things up further forward.
Tanguy Ndombele
Compared with N'Golo Kante and Michael Essien, Ndomblele, another Manchester City are keeping their eye on, has some handsome reviews.
Like Dembele, the Lyon midfielder has enjoyed success as a No10 before being shifted to more of a box-to-box influence.
Lyon have impressed this season, especially across two Champions League encounters with Pep Guardiola's side and, while the likes of Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir take the headlines at the Ligue 1 club, Ndombele has been quietly dictating their success.
A recent addition to the France national side, making his debut in October, the 21-year-old already has ties at the club in Hugo Lloris and Moussa Sissoko. Again, though, he could be an option which doesn't sit too comfortably with Levy.
Moussa Sissoko
Many a Tottenham fan would have scoffed at this suggestion a couple of months ago, some still might. But the French international has turned a corner in his career in north London, and has brought the fanbase on side with his performances in the absence of so many key men this season.
The once bumbling excuse for a midfielder, who arrived from Newcastle on deadline day two years ago for £30million, is finally slotting into Pochettino’s plans. Sissoko is tireless on and off the ball and has a penchant for a marauding run forward. They don’t always come off, admittedly, and he has a long way to go to fill the sizeable boots of Dembele, but following his tremendous work this season, Sissoko deserves the chance at least.
Wilmar Barrios
Perhaps more of the Victor Wanyama mould than Dembele, Barrios is better remembered for his midfield industry, and a headbutt on England's Jordan Henderson at the World Cup, than any playmaking elements.
The Colombian, currently at Boca Juniors, has been linked with a move to north London for some time now. He would appear an outside option to replace the Belgian should Pochettino want something more solid for the coming years.
Carlos Soler
The 22-year-old Spaniard is considered as possible longterm replacement for Dembele, with Spurs have scouted the Valencia man on numerous occasions this season.
He is believed to be valued in the region of £30m.
