Mauricio Pochettino has suggested Tottenham must start to “take risks” in the transfer market in order to challenge for major trophies.
Spurs have spent considerably less than their ‘big six’ rivals in the Premier League since Pochettino took over in the summer of 2014. Last summer, no new signings were brought in at all.
January arrivals aren’t expected, although the Londoners continue to be linked with a number of players including Sampdoria defender Joachim Andersen.
In his press conference ahead of Tottenham’s EFL Cup semi-final against Chelsea, Pochettino revealed his stance on the club’s current transfer strategy.
“I need to be honest. I want to win the Premier League. The players and Jesus [Perez, assistant manager] want to win the Premier League or Champions League or a trophy,” he said (via the London Evening Standard).
“But if we want to win titles we need to operate in a different way. At the moment we operate in the same way as we operated five years ago when we arrived. Of course, maybe we can win some titles but it’s going to be a tough job because in that situation every club in the last five years was improving a lot.
“The other day I saw a stat about how teams were spending in Europe in the last 10 years and I think we were on the bottom – in England and Europe! Of course we’re doing a fantastic job but if we want to be real contenders we need to operate in a different way in the future.
“At the moment it’s fantastic – so far so good – but we’ll see if it’s enough to challenge and be consistent in the next five years operating in this way, if we’re capable to fight with the big sides in the same way that we’ve fought in the last four or five years.”
The lack of spending has been a source of frustration for Spurs fans, particularly with their side sitting third in the Premier League, knowing some investment may have turned the current team into genuine title contenders.
Central midfield has been a significant issue, with Mousa Dembele expected to leave because of his contract situation and Victor Wanyama struggling with injuries.
If Tottenham do move for a new player this month, it will probably be a central midfielder.
I don’t disagree with Poch (obviously) but I’m not sure why he’s gone to the media with these thoughts.
I’m sure Levy, the Board and Poch must have a close relationship, with Poch far more involved than the
coaches at Arsenal and Chelsea re short and long term plans.
So I’m slightly concerned re the media interview today.
On one hand, Poch believes in this squad ..which is getting better as it ‘matures’.
On the other hand, he’s saying the squad isn’t good enough to win the big trophies.
Maybe it isn’t, but Poch also knows that throwing money at expensive signings (should
the right people even come up for sale or negotiation) is not always the answer.
As a fan, I believe in the togetherness that this squad and manager has ..but today made
me a little concerned. We do, however, need to keep our best players ..including Eriksen
and Toby ..as a ‘push’ towards ANY success in the near future.
Already last summer MP said the same thing and nothing happened during the summer transfer window. I really don’t know what the point of this statement is as he has already stated that he does not believe that we will sign anyone this month.A complete waste of time and a question of “deja vu.”
We definitely need central midfielders. We have Winks, Sissoko. Dier has been out. Wanyama is always injured these days and Lamela can’t be trusted to stay fit, plus he plays further forward. Dembele is going, so he must be replaced. Central defence, Toby seems to be going too, probably in the summer, so at that point we need another centre back. With Vertonghen having been out quite a while, this leaves Toby, Sanchez (who has also been out) and Foyth. It just takes one of them to be injured and Vertonghen to get injured again and we are really short and asking Dier when fit again, to help in defence. All the team needs is more depth and someone else who can play striker. It is that time of year where reinforcements could mean trophies and previously we have missed out for the same reason, both in Redknapp’s day and the Leicester season. It is time we acted like a big boy and the cheque book comes out. Otherwise, what is the point. Top 4 is not a trophy. If we lose Pochettino, we then start to lose the core of our squad.