DARREN ANDERTON EXCLUSIVE
DARREN ANDERTON wants new Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo to raid his old club Wolves for Raul Jimenez – if he loses Harry Kane.
Manchester City have already made contact with Spurs about signing Kane and will return with a firm bid after the Euros. And, with Anderton convinced the England captain is on his way, he would love to see Jimenez brought in to cushion the blow of his departure. The former Spurs star said: “I’m really pleased the club have got Nuno – I like the way he handles himself, I like the way his teams play. “He has done it in the
Premier League, he plays a nice brand of football.
“Wolves played with some exciting, entertaining players and at Tottenham, given all that, he is going to do really well.
“It’s not an easy job to come into and the Kane situation will make it even more difficult if what we think is going to happen does happen and he moves on.
“When Gareth Bale first went to Real Madrid, everyone said, ‘Wow, how do we replace him?’.
“And we went out and spent some good money, some not so good money.
“But we became a better club and a better team off the back of that and that’s what you have to hope for again. There’s no reason why not, there’s still
loads of talent within the squad and I would love for Nuno to bring Jimenez in... he’s a different class.
“He had that horrific injury, but managers usually bring in a player or two from their old club, so, fingers crossed, there’s an opportunity for that maybe to happen.”
Chairman Daniel Levy adopted a scattergun approach to finding Jose Mourinho’s replacement and only agreed terms with Nuno after several other high-profile knock-backs.
Anderton added: “If I was Nuno, I wouldn’t be bothered one little bit.
“It’s great for him, he obviously fits the mould of what
Tottenham want and that’s all that matters.
“It’s a massive, massive club, the stadium is unreal, he has some unbelievable talent there to work with and get the best out of.
“And some of the players – people like Dele Alli – will be quite excited he’s the man coming up. Dele struggled under Mourinho.
“I’m sure some of that was his fault,
but he’s at a point where he needs a manager to love him and there’s no doubt that Mourinho didn’t – and it killed him.
“It wasn’t just Mourinho’s fault, Dele’s performances before he came, at the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s time,
weren’t at the level they had been. He needs a new manager who will give him a new lease of life because, if he doesn’t, it might have to be elsewhere.
“The main thing, though, is the Kane situation and the sooner that is sorted out, the better. To walk through the door and have that, that’s a big negative impact to a squad and a football club.
“But if he is given money to spend, he’s a really good judge of talent and we’re in for good times ahead.
“Spurs aren’t going to win the Premier League next season.
“You need a bit of luck to win a trophy, a knockout competition, but he is the right man for the job and can definitely end the trophy drought.”
I would love for Nuno to bring Jimenez in... he’s a different class