Tottenham captain Cristian Romero labeled his club ‘disgraceful’ for their lukewarm winter transfer window activity despite having an extremely depleted squad for the final stretch of the season. In a social media post on Monday night, he started by praising his teammates for their incredible 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City, where they came from behind in the second half, led by Dominic Solanke’s brace.
Romero was forced off at half-time in the game due to illness, forcing Thomas Frank to turn to his substitute bench, comprising almost entirely of academy stars. Romero’s absence took the club’s fitness-related absences into double-digits, with most of the forward line and midfield missing any competitive depth. Even match-saver Solanke only
recently returned from injury and played more than was initially anticipated.
Tottenham made just two signings in the window: England midfielder Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid, midway through January, and the loan acquisition of Hearts teenager James Wilson for the Under-21 side, while making failed approaches for ex-Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, who joined Manchester City, and Liverpool defender Andy Robertson.
Meanwhile, they sold last season’s leading scorer and the man who scored the winner in the Europa League, Brennan Johnson, to Crystal Palace.
“Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were incredible,” Romero said on Instagram moments after the window closed. “I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available – unbelievable but true and disgraceful. We’ll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that’s left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans.”
While Spurs continued their run of impressive performances against Pep Guardiola’s City, they aren’t out of choppy waters just yet. The north Londoners have won just two of their last 15 Premier League games and sit in a disappointing 14th place, with Manchester United away, Newcastle United home and rivals Arsenal home in the next three.
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