The January transfer window days keep passing by and Tottenham Hotspur are yet to make any moves in or out of their first team.
While admitting this month is a difficult one for transfers, Antonio Conte has not been quiet in his belief that the club needs to improve its squad before the deadline next Monday.
"This is not the right moment and also to speak in front of the media. The club know very well what I think," he said on Sunday after Spurs' defeat at Chelsea.
"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."
Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici, who football.london understands is back home in Italy this week during the international break, has a renowned habit of lining up numerous deals with players' representatives for each position he wants to fill in his squad so that when the clubs can agree a deal, things can move quickly.
That method could come in handy in what is set to be a manic final six days of the window.
Here is the state of play with each department of the squad and what needs to happen with incoming and outgoings:
Goalkeepers
This is the one mostly settled area of the squad now that Hugo Lloris has penned his new deal until 2024.
There is not understood to be a call-back option in Pierluigi Gollini's loan contract for Atalanta and the only movement in this department could be potentially be if a good loan offer comes in for either Brandon Austin or Alfie Whiteman to head off and get more first team minutes under their belt.
Centre-backs
This one mostly depends on who heads out of the door at Hotspur Way.
Tottenham had identified a left-sided centre-back to provide competition for Ben Davies as a need but that was expected to be pushed back until the summer.
However, with Joe Rodon keen on a loan to get first team football and Japhet Tanganga the subject of some interest from clubs in Italy, Spurs would have to be wary of leaving Conte short if both young defenders were to head out.
That potential double movement might require Tottenham to revisit the left centre-back idea but the likelihood is more that they do not allow both Rodon and Tanganga to leave in the same window.
Wing-backs
No prizes for guessing who the main target in this area is. Yes, you're fully aware of the long-running Adama Traore transfer saga.
Paratici has been a fan of the Spaniard, who turned 26 on Tuesday, for a few years and made a sizeable bid for him while he was at Juventus.
Spurs have held talks with Wolves over the winger, who Paratici believes Conte can convert into a wing-back, but those inside the club deny suggestions that a bid has been made yet for Traore.
However, there is an expectation from all sides that a deal will be agreed before the window closes, with Spurs having enquired about a loan deal with a view to a permanent move.
Sergio Reguilon and Ryan Sessegnon are set as the current left wing-backs, while Emerson Royal is a work in progress as well on the other side.
Matt Doherty has been linked with a move out of the club, with a return to Wolves mooted.
Central midfield
This area could see a fair amount of change in the remaining six days of the transfer window, with Conte requesting a new central midfielder.
Three 25-year-olds in Giovani Lo Celso, Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele are all on Conte's exit list.
Ndombele is regarded by the coaches as the best player on the ball at the club but among the worst off of it and Conte is yet another manager who has struggled to tame a player who often appears to want to play the game his way rather than the team way.
Unlike his predecessors, Conte does not appear to believe the effort is worth it with the Frenchman.
Ndombele is believed to be keen on a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino at PSG, but it remains to be seen whether a move can be agreed, with both Tottenham and the player likely to have to make compromises in order to make a return to France happen and the Paris side unable so far to offer up viable players in exchange.
Lo Celso's injuries, some picked up on international duty with Argentina, have chopped up his playing time at the club to such a degree that he's never been able to become a regular for any sustained period of time.
football.london understands that Sevilla are keen on bringing the former Real Betis midfielder back to La Liga before the end of the month.
Lo Celso is currently away with Argentina and is believed to be unhappy with his exclusion from the squad for Sunday's trip to Chelsea, with the former potentially complicating a transfer.
Then there is Alli, who, following a series of hamstring problems, has failed to adapt his game to a series of Tottenham managers.
Southampton, Everton and Newcastle have shown an interest in him in recent weeks, with Brighton also said to be monitoring his situation, and there is a confidence that he will be on the move out of Spurs before Monday's deadline.
In terms of incoming players, Paratici has been hampered by his main targets being difficult to land during the January transfer window.
football.london understands that Paratici remains a huge admirer of 23-year-old USA international Weston McKennie, who he took to Juventus from Schalke in 2020. The versatile Texan can play either as a box to box midfielder, a defensive one or on the right or left of midfield.
McKennie has been starting regularly for Juventus this season and Paratici is understood to have spoken to the players' representatives about a move, but a January switch would be unlikely at the moment with Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri not believed to be keen on losing the American midway through the campaign.
Another Serie A midfield player Paratici is a fan of is AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie. The 25-year-old is currently playing at the Africa Cup of Nations for the Ivory Coast.
While Milan would be happy to get a fee for the midfielder, who is out of contract in the summer, there is a belief that the player would prefer to wait until the summer to try to win the title with his club and also maximise the money he would make out of any deal, without clubs needing to pay a transfer fee.
The difficulties in signing a player currently competing in the international tournament in Cameroon add another level of complexity to any potential deal.
For cover for the remainder of the season, Conte and Paratici are both believed to like a more available option, another 25-year-old, in Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat.
He is represented by the same agency - ICM Stellar Sports - as Gareth Bale, Ben Davies and Joe Rodon and his representatives are believed to have been looking for potential new clubs for him this month.
The Dutch-born Morocco international was a regular in his first season following his switch from Hellas Verona but has struggled for minutes during this campaign, with AC Milan also believed to be considering a move.
One potentially complication is that he is also currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco.
Attackers
This area very much depends on what happens with Paratici's attempts to land a top drawer attacker in Porto's Luis Diaz.
Another 25-year-old, the Colombian is one of Europe's hottest properties at the moment, with 16 goals and six assists from the left wing for the Portuguese side this season, including two strikes in the Champions League.
Diaz has plenty of admirers at Tottenham, including Paratici and football.london understands he has opened talks with Porto and the player's representatives about the possibility of bringing him to north London this month and placing him in a mouth-watering front three of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Reports in Italy have suggested that Spurs have gone as far as lodging a 45m euros (£37.6m) offer for the exciting winger plus add-ons, who has a release clause of almost double that amount.
The north London club are remaining quiet over the claims of a bid for Diaz, who is currently away on international duty with Spurs defender and compatriot Davinson Sanchez, but he is certainly a player who would improve Conte's squad.
Spurs have been in this position before and not pushed hard enough to bridge a gap in valuation and sign a top class player. This will be the first real test with Conte at the helm to see whether they learn from past mistakes this time.
Should Spurs manage to land a real coup in bringing the high-scoring Colombia international to N17 then plans to sign a new striker might be shelved until the summer when it's easier to sign one, with Son and Steven Bergwijn taking on the role if Kane is out.
One young winger heading out of Spurs is Jack Clarke, who is in the final stages of completing a loan move to Sunderland until the end of the season.
The 21-year-old has struggled for game time at the club since arriving from Leeds in 2019. Now he is set to get a chance with the League One high-flyers and football.london understands that Clarke will have his medical on Wednesday with his new club.
Should Diaz arrive then Tottenham could consider a loan move for Bryan Gil, who only arrived from Sevilla in the summer, in order to give the young Spain international the game time he needs.
Bergwijn was the subject of a rejected bid from Ajax but Conte told football.london that he likes the Dutchman, who was Spurs' match-winner in the dramatic win at Leicester City last week, and wants to keep him.
Paratici's ideal striker signing would be - like many clubs - Fiorentina's young hotshot Dusan Vlahovic. However, there is a feeling that Spurs missed their chance in not pushing harder for the Serbian star last summer.
The 21-year-old, who has 18 months left on his contract, is scoring goals for fun again in Serie A, with 20 in 24 appearances so far this campaign.
Many sides, including Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal, are closely watching the situation with Vlahovic and the total financial package involved for him, including his transfer fee and wages, could price him out of Tottenham's ball park.
Juventus look to be in pole position to sign the talented front man, potentially as early as this month.
If Spurs manage to bring in Diaz then they will look again at the striker position in the summer.
