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Tottenham urged to strengthen three key positions in January

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 10:37 AM ET

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank advised to make three signings in January to improve the spine of his squad

Tottenham Hotspur’s quadruple hopes were dashed on Wednesday evening when they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United. The Magpies beat Thomas Frank and Co. 2-0 at St James’ Park, via goals from Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade.

Despite a promising start to the campaign that sees Spurs third in the Premier League table, the result at Newcastle in midweek means they have won just three of their last nine games in all competitions. The injury list is growing continuously, with young Archie Gray becoming the latest prey to a calf problem. He has been ruled out for weeks, joining several key players in the infirmary.

The long-term injury problems to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have obviously hurt the Lilywhites in terms of creativity and guile. Plus, the iconic Son Heung-min’s departure to MLS in August has been a setback for the club and the fans, leaving Thomas Frank with just Dominic Solanke and Richarlison as genuine No.9s. As a result, attacking reinforcements are still viewed as a priority even after the north Londoners spent heavily on the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani in the summer.

David Bentley urges Tottenham to make three signings in January

Tottenham have been way too inconsistent in recent weeks. The 3-0 away win over Everton ended their two-game winless run, and Frank had hoped to build on that, but his team were undone by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

Former Spurs midfielder David Bentley reacted to the cup defeat at Newcastle. He has urged Frank to make three signings in the winter window to improve the spine of his squad.

“I think they’ve got to go into the market and make a bit of a statement,” David Bentley said live on TalkSPORT conversation with fellow former ex-teammate Jamie O’Hara.

“Purchase at least two or three players down the spine of the team.

“Just add a little bit more class… They need to get some goals, they need to get more creative players. I don’t know who they’re gonna go into the market and buy but they definitely do need [to].”

“They need a striker”, O’Hara added.

“Yeah they do need a striker, yeah,” Bentley replied.

Tottenham must make changes to their squad

Reinforcements are an absolute necessity in January if Tottenham intend to keep themselves in the top four conversation. Xavi Simons has not hit the ground running, leaving Mohammed Kudus to shoulder the creative responsibility all by himself. Despite Kulusevski set to return from a long-term injury in December, the Lilywhites have to go into the winter market and get a creative midfielder to support Kudus.

A new striker also has to be on Frank’s agenda, owing to Solanke’s fitness problems and the chronic inconsistency of Richarlison. Generally top-quality strikers are difficult to get in January, but the club bosses must give their best to get one. In addition, a box-to-box midfielder to partner Joao Palhinha would be great for Tottenham.

Having been boosted by the fresh capital pumped into the club by the Lewis Family at the start of October, it will be intriguing to see how Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange plan to strengthen the squad.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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