Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy now have one week left in the transfer market to conclude any January business for Antonio Conte and Tottenham.
A key month for the Lilywhites as the Italian head coach looks to really stamp his mark on the club, so far we have only seen one player head out of the door with youngster Dilan Markanday joining Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
That could all change in the remaining seven days of the winter market as Spurs look to bring in new players and also move some on.
Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli could be two of the big names to depart before the month is out with both players left out of Conte's plans in west London.
While the absence of the Frenchman wasn't a surprise given his omission from the matchday squad since the FA Cup win over Morecambe a fortnight ago, Alli's exclusion from the matchday 20 was perhaps a shock due to the injury issues facing Spurs ahead of their game against the Champions League holders.
However, Alli wasn't the only eye-catching absence as Giovani Lo Celso was also not included for the London derby clash.
That allowed youngster Harvey White to take his spot on the bench alongside the likes of Bryan Gil, Lucas Moura and Dane Scarlett.
Not long after the team news broke at 3.30pm, Lo Celso took to his Instagram account and discussed his absence from the team.
"Regarding the questions I received I would like to clear out that I am 100% in good physical condition. I have no problem and I feel very well," he explained.
"I wish the best to my team in the derby today."
An important game for Tottenham in the top-four race with Arsenal and West Ham dropping points this weekend, Lo Celso's omission was a major talking point amongst fans and subsequently raised questions about his future with only one week to go until transfer deadline day.
Conte pointed to a lack of creativity in his squad after the midweek win at Leicester City, with Lo Celso, who has spent a large part of his Tottenham careers on the sidelines through injury, seen as one of the players in the Spurs squad who could at least try and help solve that issue.
However, the head coach has seen very little of his player during their time together at the club with an injury sustained on international duty limiting the ex-Real Betis man to only seven appearances since the managerial change in November.
Asked in his post-match press conference if Lo Celso's absence suggests the player's future lies elsewhere, Conte said: "But I selected the players for this game and for this question is one for the club to answer."
Lo Celso's exclusion, and Conte's answer for that matter, was rather telling given Tottenham's lack of options at Stamford Bridge and his future in N17 now looks rather bleak following the head coach's call.
Conte has spent the past two months evaluating his Tottenham squad and has since passed on his findings to Paratici, Levy and Steve Hitchen, which will have included his thoughts on whether the Argentine is part of his plans going forward or not.
The Spurs boss was also asked about transfers when speaking to Sky Sports after the game and he made his feelings clear on what it will take for Tottenham to close the gap at the top.
"This is not the right moment and also to speak in front of the media. The club know very well what I think," he outlined.
"The time we need to close this gap, there is not one transfer market, I think the last few years the gap became very, very big and now it is not simple to find the solution in a short time.
"For this reason I am only focused with the players to work until the end and then we'll see.
"We have four months to give everything, but if we think we solve with the transfer market it is not a reality. You need many years.
"For sure you have to start, the level of the squad has to improve."
Paying for their failure to sign a single player in the 2018/19 campaign having fallen quite a way behind teams such as Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, many supporters have pointed to the club's transfer business the following season, which included the additions of Lo Celso and Ndombele.
Neither move has gone as initially planned and now it looks that both, who together cost the best part of £100million, aren't part of the head coach's thinking going forward.
Conte needs to make big decisions if the club are to kick on and it appears that is very much the case going on his selection at Stamford Bridge.
Failing to bring in a player or move any of the big names on so far this month, this week is going to be pivotal for Tottenham as Conte looks to get the club heading in the right direction again with his masterplan.
