Bayern Munich star Ivan Perisic has said Mauricio Pochettino is Tottenham’s “best player” ahead of Tuesday’s crunch Champions League clash.
Spurs and Bayern will go head to head in north London in a game that could end up deciding who tops Group B. The Germans won their opening fixture against Red Star while Pochettino’s men threw away a two-goal lead to draw with Olympiacos.
Perisic is likely to play a part for the visitors. The Croatian has been linked with Tottenham in the past but finally left Inter for Bayern in the summer, joining the Bundesliga champions on loan.
Speaking to the Athletic, Perisic made a strange but complimentary claim about Pochettino.
He said: “They have really good players in all positions and their coach is their best player. Pochettino has created an unbelievable mentality. He has changed the whole club. You see it on TV and especially on the pitch when you play them. They are real players, real competitors, and when you don’t focus for 95 minutes, they will beat you. It’ll be a good test for us. We have to leave everything out there to get something out of the game.”
It’s likely Perisic simply meant Pochettino is the most vital cog in the Spurs machine, but his comments raise an interesting question: who is Tottenham’s best player?
Harry Kane is perhaps the obvious answer given his goal record and consistency, while Heung-min Son has been superb over the last couple of years and was arguably the club’s best performer last season.
Meanwhile, there’s a reason Christian Eriksen is constantly linked with Real Madrid despite his recent dip in form.
Who do you think Spurs’ best player is? Let us know in the comments section below.
A toss-up between Kane & Eriksen. Both have exceptional passing vision & would be virtually impossible to replace
Eriksen impossible to replace? A road cone would have been more use over the last 12 months. That sort of opinion is why we can’t move forward.
ERIKSEN IS THE WORST PLAYER WE HAVE AT THE MOMENT, MUST GET RID SOONER THAN LATER, HE IS AFFECTING THE SPIRIT (MORALE) OF THE WHOLE TEAM WITH HIS I WANT TO LEAVE BECAUSE I AM SO GOOD (SO HE THINKS) REAL MADRID IS THE ONLY TEAM FOR ME ATTITUDE , HE’S DELUSIONAL BIG TIME,, THAT’S WHY ALL OF THE BEST TEAMS IN EUROPE ARE WANTING HIM SO BADLY AND HAVE MADE SO MANY BIDS FOR HIM, THAT HAVE ALL BEEN TURNED DOWN, YEH RIGHT, THANK GOD HE HAS TURNED DOWN £230,000 PW.. THE BEST OVERALL AND MOST CONSISTENT PLAYER IS SON FOLLOWED BY KANE AND MOURA, HIT AND MISS DIER IS NEARLY AS BAD AS ERIKSEN, I PERSONALLY THINK LAMELA MAY BE GOOD OPTION TO REPLACE ERIKSEN .
Jan Vertonghen has been key in the centre of defence for several years (barring one when Toby was better). We perhaps focus too much on attackers/midfielders when we talk about the best. Don’t forget Hugo’s saves, although prone to ‘howlers’ on occasion