Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that none of his squad are safe this summer
According to Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino none of the current Tottenham squad are guaranteed to be at White Hart Lane next season.
Spurs have endured another topsy-turvy campaign and failed in their bid for a top four finish once again this season.
Analyse
The Argentinian boss seems willing to reshape his squad this summer. He told Sky Sports: “Always you need to analyse the last season. Nobody is sure that they are staying at the club.
“I do not have the same possibility to spend a lot of money like the manager here two seasons ago. We need to be clever in the way that we build the new squad, because it is difficult to compete with the money.
“We want good players, with the right profile. We need to look forward and learn from the past. We have a different plan to develop over the next few years and we need to deliver it.”
Speculation
Unfortunately for the Spurs boss he may be facing the possibility of losing some of his key players in the likes of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris if recent speculation is to be believed, as both players are being linked with big money moves to Manchester United.
Kane has enjoyed a dream debut season in the Premier League, scoring 20 goals in the top-flight. His performances have now reportedly attracted the attention of Louis van Gaal’s United, who could be set for another summer of spending. Kane seems unlikely to wish to leave Tottenham this summer though.
French international ‘keeper Hugo Lloris has long been lauded as one of the best players in his position in the European game and has previously been linked with big money moves.
Deadwood
Tottenham have a number of deadwood players who are not quite up to helping the team from north London to be where they want to be, the top four. As Pochettino alluded to he has not been helped by the previous regimes spending.
Previous bosses did have money to spend, but it is highly debatable whether they were the ones who chose the players. Technical Director Franco Baldini has been accredited or blamed for some of the clubs poor transfer dealings and looks set to leave the club this summer.
He played a part in signing the likes of Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado, Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Paulinho. The fact that only Eriksen and maybe Chadli can be considered successes says a lot about his ability to sign players.
Pochettino has had to try and make the best of these players, some of whom are just not good enough to play for a team with the ambitions of Spurs.
The Spurs boss is unlikely to be able to spend much and bring in high-quality players, so Tottenham are unlikely to ever challenge the teams above them. When Gareth Bale left for Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £85million that was Spurs chance to create a team capable of challenging at the top.
Instead of investing the money wisely in a few quality players, they decided that quantity was more important than quality and bought a bunch of mediocre players. What do you get when you buy mediocre players, you get a mediocre team.
Qualified
Given the right tools Pochettino could be the right man for the job at White Hart Lane. However, he is now stuck with a group of players who he did not buy and who are simply not good enough for the team.
He is unable to replace them because he has little money to spend and the club hierarchy do not seem as ambitious as they were a few years ago. A lack of ambition could lead to player unrest and the possible exits of the likes of Lloris, or dare I say it Harry Kane.
Top Six
Tottenham are currently sixth in the Premier League table and odds of 4/9 to finish in the top six. A top six finish would again bring a place in the Europa League, which seems to be a curse more than a blessing for English teams in recent seasons, see Everton’s league campaign for proof that.
Challenge
Pochettino has a challenge on his hands attempting to turn Tottenham into a team that can make it into the top four. The likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are likely to strengthen once again, while Spurs are looking for quality at knockdown prices.
Pochettino knows that his current squad is not good enough and he needs to get rid of a number of his underperforming players this summer. Unfortunately his hands will once again be tied and without proper backing it is unlikely that he will be able to guide Spurs into the top four of the Premier League anytime soon.
Can Tottenham challenge for the top four next season?
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
