POCH WAR CHEST
Spurs boss can splurge £150m on squad revamp
MAURICIO POCHETTINO hopes to spend up to £150million revamping his tottenham squad this summer.
Spurs reached the Champions League semi-finals in dramatic fashion when they knocked out Manchester City on Wednesday, but Pochettino is already planning significant changes.
the Argentine wants up to five new players ahead of Spurs’ first full season in their £1billion stadium. he will have a kitty of £60m plus whatever he generates from sales — and a number of key players are set to leave the north London club at the end of the season.
Playmaker Christian eriksen and centre back toby Alderweireld are among those whose futures are unclear.
eriksen, who has a year left on his deal and continues to stall over a new contract, looks set to leave with Spurs willing to sell now rather than lose him for nothing in 2020. Alderweireld also has a year left on his contract but a £25m release clause will be activated this summer, leaving the club powerless to keep the Belgian if he wants to move on.
Spurs are expected to listen to offers for Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama and
Taking his seat 15 hours after the madness, Mauricio Pochettino still appeared to be coming to terms with Tottenham’s dramatic European progress.
‘We are all tired,’ he said with a grin. ‘But... an amazing, crazy and unbelievable night.’
Pochettino and his players arrived back at their lodgings at the club’s Enfield training ground at around 2am yesterday. They stayed overnight before a debrief and a recovery session.
The manager and his usually straight- faced assistant Jesus Perez could barely conceal their delight yesterday lunchtime and who could blame them?
Pochettino spoke of his players being in a ‘dream-like state’. He lauded them for ‘writing history’. This, after all, is Tottenham’s first semi-final in Europe’s most prestigious club competition for 57 years. Briefly, it all became a touch whimsical as the conversation turned to destiny.
‘i believe in the universe,’ Pochettino began, recalling how his side were on the brink of group-stage elimination in the autumn.
‘in november it was not destiny. at the beginning of the season, nobody believed that destiny was going to reward us. and five years ago, nobody believed we would be here. You need to work hard, to have the option to be rewarded by the universe.’
Then, reclining in his chair, Pochettino contemplated the alternative, doomsday version that so nearly transpired.
When Raheem Sterling collected a cross from Sergio aguero in added time and tucked the ball past Hugo Lloris, appearing to have won the tie, Pochettino feared only devastation.
‘i threw off my jacket, threw down my jumper and went to sit next to Jesus and Toni Jimenez — it was a few seconds like this,’ he said, putting his head in his hands. ‘it was so fast. There were a lot of bad feelings and bad ideas.’ The lowest moment of his managerial career? ‘in that moment, yes, of course. it was going to be a massive situation emotionally.
‘We would have been very down. in that moment, you start to think, “Why?” You think of that action where Christian Eriksen played the pass back. “Why not play forwards?” i was reviewing the action, the decision, in my head. How was i going to face the players? The fans? You guys?
‘all these scenarios happened so quickly in my mind. and then i heard Jesus’s voice saying, “Oh, maybe it is offside, VaR checking”, and in that moment i was alive again. i understand the situation on City’s bench; from top of the world down, disappointed. That is unbelievable, the emotion we lived was amazing.’
instead of picking up a battered and bruised team, Tottenham’s spirits could not be higher ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League return to the Etihad Stadium. They travel with yet more injury problems. Moussa Sissoko is a major doubt with a groin injury and Eric Dier is short of fitness.
City have a score to settle and a Premier League title to win. guardiola’s team will surely bristle at footage from the away changing room that appeared on social media. Tottenham’s players sang and Pochettino vented loud and proud. He punched and slapped a white tactics board and his squad rejoiced.
From his lowest point to his highest in 60 seconds? not quite. Pochettino still ranks keeping Espanyol in La Liga as his greatest managerial feat.
‘it was fantastic to make history, to arrive for the first time since 1962 in the semi-final for Tottenham. But to fight for Espanyol where i played, when my kids are fans of the club, when it’s about people keeping their jobs, that was my best emotion,’ he said.
‘Sometimes people only mention you if you win a title or not, but for me, at that moment, it was more than winning the Premier League, Champions League or La Liga. The pressure is completely different.’
Yet as Pochettino and his spirited Tottenham team continue to defy the odds, who knows where this run will end? Even amid the joy, there were pointed messages for his players ahead of the semi-final against ajax.
He warned: ‘ We need to be humble, for sure, because beating City, nobody expected that, it can give massive belief.
‘But if you are not clever enough to manage that in a good way, you can make a mistake — that victory
can make you weaker. It is so important to respect Ajax. They beat Real Madrid and Juventus, so they are more favourites than us — that is a reality.
‘If they are not bigger favourites than us, they are the same level. We must respect them.’