MONEY CAN’T BUY
FOCUSED: Pochettino THREE David De Gea is expected to play at Tottenham today in what could be one of his last games for the club with Real Madrid ready to pounce in the summer. United boss Mourinho then plans to give Portugal Under-21s international Joel Pereira, 20, his Premier League debut – probably against Crystal Palace a week today. And Sergio Romero, who reveals today that he wants to stay at United for the rest of his career, will be in goal for the Europa League Final against MAURICIO POCHETTINO says he would love to break the world transfer record when signing a new player this summer but will not do it as it goes against everything he is trying to achieve at the club.
The Argentine spent £58million on three players – Victor Wanyama, Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko – last summer but got £35.5m of that back through flogging players of his own.
And Pochettino insists that Spurs, who PAUL HETHERINGTON Ajax in Stockholm a week on Wednesday.
Mourinho said: “We need three good goalkeepers. We have two good, experienced keepers – the Spain national team goalkeeper and the Argentina national team goalkeeper.
“And we have a young boy – Pereira – who for me is going to be Portuguese No.1. He is just 20 – born in the club, made in the club.
“Joel is fantastic and I’m going to give him a chance to play in the Premier League this season.
“So we have three fantastic goalkeepers – two plus a young one. But a club of our dimension can’t gamble. We can’t have one good one and one ordinary one.
“De Gea and Romero have coped very well with the situation.
“They are big friends and have a fantastic relationship.
“I see Sergio supporting David and David supporting Sergio. I couldn’t be happier with what we have at the moment.
“Romero will play in the final because he deserves to. He has played most of the matches in the competition but David has played in it this season, which makes him a champion if we win the trophy, so he’d get a medal.”
Romero, 30, admits he gets “down” at times when he is not playing but he stresses he could not be happier to be at Old Trafford, after being signed by Mourinho’s predecessor, Louis van Gaal. He said: “I work every day to play. I am Argentina’s No.1 and that gives me my mentality. “To hear I will play in the Europa League Final is brilliant, fabulous. And if we win my medal will be a badge of honour. “It is not easy when you don’t play a lot of games but I have confidence and when I arrive in the dressing room, all the players say, ‘Well done’.
“That makes me strong when I don’t play for two months but David and I work together. When David’s level is high, my level is high.
“That is the fight between us. I have confidence in him and he has confidence in me.
“That is really important, so we fight together in the best interests of Manchester United. So everyone benefits and my philosophy is that if I can help Joel too I will do it.
“I came here to be No.1 but I know my reality – I am the second goalkeeper. But I work every day for possibilities and I have demonstrated my capabilities. I have never thought that I wanted to leave.
“I want to continue with this for the rest of my career – five, s i x , s even, e i ght years. Sometimes you are No.1, No.2 or No.3 but I want to continue.”
Romero, meanwhile, says United will dedicate the Europa League – if they win it – to injured team-mates Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He said: “We would like to win it for Marcos and Zlatan.”
Plans are already being made for Ibrahimovic, ruled out with a serious knee injury, to travel with the United squad for the final in his home country. TONY STENSON are likely to finish second in the Premier League for the first time, will look inwards before looking to the transfer market.
As the countdown continues on leaving their famous White Hart Lane stadium, Pochettino said: “We are always thinking about how we can improve but after we finish the season it will be time to analyse, to make it better and try to change things