Prior to Tottenham’s 5-1 win over Stoke City at Wembley on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino stressed the importance of changing the way the club handles transfers.
“It’s so important today to identify our targets for next summer,” the Spurs boss told reporters. (Quotes via ESPN.)
“If we wait until May and sell before signing, it’s so difficult to bring in players that can help. This season is a very good example. We signed good players but it was so late, with no preseason and then they have to play.
“You need six or seven months for the players to adapt themselves to the team, the dynamics, everything. And that is always against us. We were talking about how important it is to identify our targets and on 3 July, when we start preseason, have them here. If not, it’s so difficult for them to help the team. And during the season, you’re going to pay.
“Maybe we need to sign players in January and bring them in six months before. If not, we’re going to compete in the same period as City, [Manchester] United, Liverpool and Chelsea – and we’re going to struggle to bring in the players we want.
“We tried to do [early business] last summer. We could not, for different reasons. Now, we are going to try again to do it early. When it’s a World Cup, we cannot wait because you need to do some business before.
“There’s an earlier [transfer] deadline. And you need to be clever because before the World Cup is finished, some players are maybe down here and after a good World Cup, they are up here, and then you say [waves good-bye], forget it.”
Tottenham supporters have been calling on the club to do their business earlier for some time now, particularly last summer when signings weren’t made until late August.
Do you agree with Pochettino’s points? Let us know in the comments.
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