The Spurs captain isn’t hiding his frustration with how the club handled the January transfer window—and honestly, he has every right to be upset.

When January rolled around, everyone expected Tottenham to be busy. They had a long list of problems to fix, an injury crisis, and enough financial wiggle room to act. Instead, things fizzled out early. The phones went quiet, and nothing much happened.

Sure, Conor Gallagher came in, and Brennan Johnson left, both for around £35 million. They also signed Souza, a young wing-back, for £13 million. Maybe he’ll turn out to be a good addition in the future, but that was pretty much it. The squad didn’t get the overhaul it needed—not even close. And Cristian Romero, the Spurs centre-back, seemed to feel pretty strongly about it.

He went on Instagram and called it “disgraceful” that Spurs went into their game against Manchester City with “only 11 players”. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but you get his point.

Romero’s full post gave his teammates credit for clawing back from 2-0 down to draw at home, but he also didn’t hold back about the club’s lack of transfer business as the window closed. He wrote, “Great effort from all my teammates yesterday; they were all incredible. I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially as we had only 11 players available—unbelievable but true and disgraceful.”

The truth? Spurs actually had 15 first-team players available, including Romero himself, though maybe he wasn’t counting himself because he’d just been ill. He also left out 19-year-old Souza, who’s still untested at this level. So, yeah, Romero exaggerated a little. But the point stands.

Spurs had both the money and the time to strengthen the squad. They really only addressed the midfield, and while Gallagher is a solid Premier League player, it’s hard to say he alone is going to fix things.

Even if injuries weren’t such a disaster, they still needed new faces. But the injuries have been brutal—at least a dozen players out or doubtful for the next game, most of them key starters, and many gone for weeks or months. Given all that, not adding to the squad feels almost irresponsible.

Thomas Frank might not love Romero airing his feelings in public again—he’s already had to nudge the Argentine to keep things in-house after that Bournemouth loss. But whether Romero should speak up or not, he’s absolutely justified in being frustrated.

This team is stretched thin, limping through games, and clearly needs new energy. Most pundits thought the Spurs would be all over the market this window. The fact that they weren’t just makes it look like the people in charge couldn’t commit to a plan, even when it was badly needed.

So why didn’t the Spurs make any real moves? Plenty of clubs avoid January deals because prices are high and good players are tough to pry away mid-season. But the Spurs had the need and the money. The board might try to spin it as avoiding panic buys, but with their form and the injury list, a bit of panic would’ve been understandable. The Lewis family even put £100 million into the club last October, yet Spurs only spent £13 million this winter.

Maybe the looming departure of sporting director Fabio Paratici caused some chaos behind the scenes, but he was always leaving after the window closed, and the scouting should’ve already been done. This is a club that had everything lined up to make big moves.

Their inaction doesn’t point to satisfaction with the squad. Plenty of players aren’t pulling their weight or are always injured. So if you’re looking for a reason, the only thing that really makes sense is uncertainty about the manager’s future. Otherwise, it’s hard to justify standing still when the team is crying out for help.

You can’t really chalk up their inaction to being happy with the squad—far from it. Plenty of players aren’t pulling their weightwhen they’re even fit enough to play. So, the only real explanation is that nobody’s sure what’ll happen with the manager.

Honestly, it does make some sense not to spend big on guys who fit Frank’s style if there’s a good chance he gets the boot, and then someone else comes in with different ideas. But if that’s how Spurs played this window, they boxed themselves in. Indecision’s left them stuck.

It’s obvious sitting out the transfer market isn’t the answer. The club needed to pick a lane—either back Frank, get him the players he wants, and hope he turns things around, or let him go and start building for the next coach.

Instead, they’ve landed in the worst spot possible. Frank’s left to struggle on with a squad ravaged by injuries—sometimes literally, with all these hamstrings going. Even if he’s the right guy, he needs a miracle to fix things with half a team. And if he’s not the answer, why is he still there?

That’s why Spthe urs head into the second half of the season with not much to hope for. They needed to act, to do something, but instead they’ve just drifted along, half-asleep.

Maybe it won’t be a total disaster. Even with all that’s gone wrong, they’re probably not getting relegated. Maybe the money they didn’t spend now will be used better in the summer. But looking at this patched-up squad and the tough months ahead, you really can’t blame Romero for calling the whole thing “disgraceful”. It’s hard to argue with him.