Tottenham Hotspur have come out of the January transfer window with a squad that looks weaker than the one they went into it with.
And Thomas Frank agrees.
Speaking last week, the Spurs head coach was asked about the possibility of Spurs signing no one else before the transfer window closed and whether the Tottenham squad was in fact weaker now than before the winter window opened.
"I think that's fair," he admitted. "I think we lost, I can't remember, six or seven players inside three weeks in January. That's crazy, and some of them extremely unlucky, definitely Lucas [Bergvall] and Ben [Davies] with clear contact injuries. Then there was, I can't remember all of them, but there were definitely too many. So yeah, of course it's weaker than we started the first of January."
Tottenham Have 14 Players Out Injured
As Frank admits there, it is not all down to transfers, with a huge number of injuries playing their part - as they did under Ange Postecoglou last season.
But selling last season's top scorer in Brennan Johnson, and bringing in only Conor Gallagher - a very astute signing it must be said - and two teenagers in Souza and James Wilson - does not make for a good transfer window.
Spurs have six players on the long-term injured list, three players on the short-term list who should be back by the end of the month and five players who could be doubts for the weekend trip to Manchester United.
Cristian Romero spoke out on the situation the club finds itself in in a thinly-veiled dig at the Tottenham hierarchy just minutes after the transfer window closed.
Speaking about being substituted at half-time in the draw with Manchester City, he wrote on Instagram: "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."
The Tottenham Hierarchy Have Questions To Answer
Frank has been under pressure for much of the campaign, with Tottenham 14th in the Premier League table, nine points clear of the relegation zone. He has been saved from ultimate pressure by Spurs' UEFA Champions League form, form which saw them end the league phase fourth and qualifying directly for the last 16.
The comeback draw with City on Sunday summed up recent performances - with nothing to lose, the original plan was ditched and Spurs went for it and got a deserved point in the end.
There has been so much talk of Frank losing his job at Spurs, and while the blame should not be solely placed at his door, he is culpable for the side's Premier League form, despite all the injuries.
The problem always seemed to be that backing him in the transfer window and then sacking him would be counter-productive, with a new man perhaps not wanting the players who had been signed.
Has A Decision Already Been Made About Sacking Thomas Frank?
Spurs' lack of transfer activity in not backing the manager - whether that was through choice or circumstance - could point to a decision being made to part ways with Frank, either in the short-term or at the end of the season and start afresh.
Gallagher can be seen as a club signing, as well as a Frank signing, given Postecoglou wanted him last year and Mauricio Pochettino handed him the captain's armband at Chelsea. He is likely to fit into any manager's thought process.
Teenagers coming on board will also be seen as club signings, given they are for the academy and the future of the club.
It has felt like Frank has been on borrowed time in N17 for quite a while and the head coach may feel it himself now the January transfer window has closed.