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Rob Guest

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool highlight Tottenham transfer miss as Fabio Paratici favourite excels

It proved to be a busy end to the January transfer window at Tottenham with two new signings and four first-team exits.

Having three priority positions to strengthen with Spurs needing right wing-back, central midfield and striker reinforcements, the club were linked with a number of players across the month.

Tottenham only managed to boost one of those areas with Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur joining the club, with Dejan Kulusevski another arrival to hand them another attacking option.

So how exactly have the players linked with the Lilywhites in January done since the January transfer window closed for business? football.london takes a look.

Adama Traore

Adama Traore looked a certainty to swap Wolves for Tottenham in January and help solve the team's woes at right wing-back.

The Spaniard may be a winger by trade but Fabio Paratici, who is a big fan of the player and wanted him at Juventus previously, clearly believed that he had all the attributes to become a success at wing-back.

A potential deal for Traore continued to drag on until the final week of the window and that allowed Barcelona to nip in ahead of the Lilywhites and sign him on loan with the option of making his move permanent for £29million.

The 26-year-old has been a regular in Xavi's XI since his return to his former club and he even marked his second Barca debut with an assist in their vital 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid.

Adama Traore has made quite an impact since swapping Wolves for Barcelona (Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

One of the biggest gripes Spurs fans had about the possible arrival of the ex-Aston Villa man in January was his failure to chip in with goals and assists on a regular basis, with only one goal to his name for Wolves in 2021/22 from 23 appearances.

However, he cannot be criticised for his output for his new club after registering four assists in his first six games for the Spanish giants, including two in their recent 4-2 win away at Napoli in the Europa League.

Traore has got off to a flier at the Nou Camp and he will be intent on maintaining his form between now and May as he looks to rejoin Barca on a permanent basis.

Sofyan Amrabat

It appeared in the final few days of the transfer window that Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat would come in and strengthen Tottenham's midfield numbers.

A regular in the Fiorentina XI the previous campaign with 28 starts to his name, the Moroccan had played a bit-part role for his club during the first few months of this term.

Morocco's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of January would have made it tricky for Spurs to bring in the 25-year-old, but in the end Paratici made a move for Bentancur from Juventus.

Since returning to Florence after his time representing his country in the tournament in Cameroon, Amrabat has started in two of his last four league appearances, making it three starts from his 15 league games this campaign.

Luis Diaz

Failing to bring any fresh faces to the club with the transfer deadline edging ever closer, Spurs looked like they were going to pull off a statement signing with a big-money deal for Porto's Luis Diaz.

Excelling for the Portuguese club both in the league and Champions League, it was seen as a move that would give the Lilywhites a significant attacking boost and one that would also demonstrate that they mean business in the transfer market under Antonio Conte.

However, Liverpool soon got wind of Tottenham's transfer for Diaz and duly made their move sooner than expected having previously tracked him going on his sublime form in Portugal.

Luis Díaz is excelling for Liverpool following his January switch from Porto (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

Often taking foreign players quite some time to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League, the 25-year-old has made an instant impression at Anfield and so far has one goal to his name and also a Carabao Cup medal after Liverpool's success over Chelsea in last Sunday's final.

Looking right at home in Liverpool's attack as they plan for the future under Jurgen Klopp, it's clear to see that Tottenham missed out on some player.

Franck Kessie

Franck Kessie will not be short on options in the summer once his AC Milan contract comes to an end.

The midfielder, who has been linked with Tottenham for some time, has also been mentioned in regards to a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid.

With the highly-rated midfielder entering the final six months of his contract back in January, there was plenty of talk of a San Siro exit in the winter market so AC Milan could bring in some money for their player rather than losing him on a free transfer.

However, that never happened and it remains to be seen where he will head to next once his contract expires.

Kessie has made six appearances for the Rossoneri since returning from Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations campaign, scoring in the 4-0 win over Lazio in February.

AC are currently one point behind city rivals Inter Milan in the Serie A table with 11 games of the season remaining and Kessie has the chance to help them clinch the Scudetto for the first time since 2011.

Djed Spence

Djed Spence has made quite the impression on loan at Nottingham Forest this season and looks destined to clinch a Premier League move at some point in the not too distant future.

His form has raised questions about why exactly Middlesbrough chose to loan him out in the first place but the Championship club will make a nice profit when he does, as expected, eventually move on.

Tottenham were linked with the 21-year-old in January as they looked to solve their right wing-back problems but the London-born player ended up remaining at the City Ground.

Spence has gone from strength to strength in Steve Cooper's Forest team and has two goals and three assists to his name, with one of his goals coming in February's outstanding 4-1 FA Cup win over Midlands rivals Leicester City.

Forest are pushing for a return to the Premier League and the talented player will be pivotal to their hopes as they look to clinch a play-off spot after recovering from a dreadful start to the season.

Weston McKennie

It came as no surprise to see Tottenham linked with Juventus ace Weston McKennie in January given Paratici brought him to Turin from German side Schalke.

However, it was always going to be such a tough deal for the Lilywhites to complete with boss Massimiliano Allegri not wanting to lose one of his first-team starters.

McKennie remained a regular in the Bianconeri team after the winter transfer market came to a close, scoring in their 2-0 home with over Udinese.

However, the midfielder is now on the sidelines after suffering a double metatarsal fracture to his left foot during their Champions League tie against Villarreal.

It means McKennie could now be out of action for two months and it may mean he only returns in the final few weeks of the season.

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