Antonio Conte wanted to bring a new spine to Tottenham last month, says journalist Paul Brown.

The January transfer window was mostly a quiet one for the north London club, who did not sign anyone until deadline day.

Was Tottenham's January transfer window a success?

You probably would not describe Tottenham's January transfer window as a major success. After all, they lost four first-team players in Tanguy Dembele, Dele Alli, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso and only made two additions, something that Conte has recently highlighted.

"Four players left in January - four important players for Tottenham. Two have arrived, so even numerically, instead of reinforcing yourself you may have, on paper, weakened," the Spurs boss told Sky Italia.

Still, the two additions that Tottenham were able to make, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, have been good ones.

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Bentancur brings experience to the club's midfield after making over 150 appearances for Juventus, while Kulusevski has already managed to make an impact after scoring and assisting in the impressive 3-2 win against Manchester City. Therefore, Conte can be pleased with the business that Spurs were able to do.

What has Brown said about Conte's initial plans for January?

It seems, though, that the Italian wanted more from Daniel Levy, with Brown telling GIVEMESPORT that he was keen on building a new spine at the club last month.

Speaking to GMS, the Daily Star journalist said: "I was told he wanted to bring a new spine in: a defender, a dominant central midfielder and a centre-forward who could either compete with or possibly one day replace Harry Kane."

Will Kulusevski and Bentancur be enough to get Tottenham into the top four?

It is hard to say at this moment of time. There is so much competition in the race for Champions League football, with Spurs currently battling it out with Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham and Wolves.

But if that 3-2 win at the Etihad is anything to go by, then Kulusevski and Bentancur have certainly given Conte's men a huge boost.

To go all the way, though, the north London outfit are probably going to need Kane to maintain the level that he was playing at against Pep Guardiola's team.

It was a truly excellent centre-forward display by the England captain, who scored twice - including the winner - to end a run of defeats that had seen his side lose against Chelsea, Southampton and Wolves.