Benitez and Pochettino need the purse strings cut
MAURICIO Pochettino and Rafa Benitez cannot be happy with their transfer business this summer as they come head-to-head at St James’ Park today.
Of course we know Benitez isn’t happy, he made that clear in his interviews this week. He never hides his frustration and he knows his squad is short of Premier League quality.
The alarm bells started ringing when Newcastle couldn’t get Tammy Abraham over the line and the Chelsea striker joined Swansea on loan.
Their big signing is Jacob Murphy from Norwich. He is a very good Championship player but unproven at the top level and one for the future. The pressure is on to perform in front of a crowd not expecting a relegation battle.
That is mainly thanks to Benitez but he knows he needs a couple of signings who have Premier League experience. It is not encouraging that he seems to be at loggerheads with owner Mike Ashley as the season starts.
Flip to Tottenham and they are going to struggle to keep hold of their manager and star players if they insist on sticking to their wage structure.
Daniel Levy looks like he is keeping to the Spurs tradition of signing players close to the end of the window to get the best deals but you do wonder just how much money Pochettino has to spend.
Danny Rose was wrong to speak out this week but the indication he is prepared to leave comes down to money and ambition.
A good friend of Man City signing Kyle Walker, Rose knows how much he could get at Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea.
Spurs supporters won’t like to hear this, but unless the club are prepared to pay wages comparable to the rest of the top sides, their best players will leave – and Tottenham’s title aspirations will disappear with them.