Tottenham started 2017 in the same way they finished 2016 by thumping Watford 4-1 on New Year’s Day.

Harry Kane and Dele Alli both netted braces for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to record their second successive 4-1 victory, having ended 2016 by beating Southampton by the same scoreline.

It means that Spurs go into their encounter with Premier League leaders Chelsea in fifth place in the table, but only three points behind third place Manchester City.

Pochettino’s men have won 11 of their opening 19 league matches, including their last four in a row, and could be set for a decent second half of the season based on how they have performed thus far.

Spurs have suffered just two losses in the league this season, at the hands of Chelsea and Manchester United, and further reinforcements in January could see the North London club seriously challenge for a second successive top four finish.

Tottenham are no strangers to dipping into the winter window, having completed several deals over the last 14 years, yet there are some that have really stood out, and those players have gone on to become integral to the team.

Thus, here are Spurs’ BEST THREE January signings since the window was introduced back in 2003…

Michael Dawson

Centre-back Michael Dawson became a top quality Premier League defender and received England call-ups in his time at Tottenham.

The 33-year-old moved to White Hart Lane from Nottingham Forest in January 2005, and went to appear 324 times for Spurs over a nine-year period.

Dawson was part of the Tottenham side that won the League Cup in 2008 under Juande Ramos, and was also named the club’s Player of the Season in the 2009/10 campaign, the season that Spurs finished fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League.

The former England defender, who appeared four times for his country, now plays his trade at fellow Premier League side Hull.

Jermain Defoe

Striker Jermain Defoe twice signed for Tottenham in the winter transfer window, and on both occasions it was money well spent by the North London side.

The former England forward joined the club in 2004 following a £7 million move from West Ham, and went on to net 64 times in 177 games for the club, winning the Player of the Year award in his first full year at White Hart Lane.

He left in January 2008 to sign for Portsmouth, yet lasted only a year on the South Coast before Spurs re-signed him in January 2009 for £16 million.

His second spell was more prolific than his first, as he scored 79 goals in 186 games for the club, including 24 in his first full season back in the 2009/10 campaign.

Defoe left for Toronto FC in 2014, but has since returned to the Premier League with Sunderland, where he has netted 33 times to help keep the club in the top-flight.

Dele Alli

It was a deal that may only have happened two years ago, but it looks like the £5 million Spurs spent on Dele Alli is one of the biggest bargains of recent times.

Tottenham got the deal done for the MK Dons midfielder in the last few hours of the window in 2015, and then sent Alli back on loan to the League One side for the rest of the campaign.

However, since making his Premier League debut against Manchester United in August 2015, the 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength.

The Spurs man netted ten goals in his first full season at White Hart Lane, in turn earning him an England call-up, and has so far this season found the net on nine occasions, the latest of which coming in their 4-1 win over Watford on New Year’s Day.

A fully-fledged England international and one of the first names on the Tottenham team-sheet, beating the likes of Liverpool to Alli’s signature back in 2015 is proving to be a masterstroke from the Spurs hierarchy.