Tottenham Hotspur announced a five year extension for manager Mauricio Pochettino yesterday, and with the boss now locked up for the long term the club can shift its focus to roster overhaul. Under Pochettino the club has accomplished three straight top three finishes, but have yet to claim a single trophy under the Argentine’s watch.
In order to get over the hump, some changes will be required. Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has been linked in previous transfer rumors, and the young Frenchman could perfectly fill one of Tottenham’s needs- scoring help for Harry Kane.
According to the Daily Mirror, Martial is one of the club’s main targets this summer, along with Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt and Fulham superstar-in-the-making Ryan Sessegnon. The latter made history this season when he became the first Championship player to be nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Sessegnon will be in extremely high demand on the transfer market this summer as he won an five awards this spring, being named:
Championship Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season, Apprentice of the Year, and named to the EFL Club Developed XI.
He’s just 18 years old, as is De Light, and with Martial only 22, Spurs would certainly be putting in place a great foundation for the future, if they can accomplish the acquisition of the trio. As they are set to open their new and upgraded White Hart Lane,
Pochettino’s side will have an eye on the future, and perhaps now (with renovations completing), open up the purse strings a bit in the transfer market.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an overhaul unless you also had an exodus of Tottenham players to offset the potential influx. Defender Toby Alderweireld has been linked with a move to United, so he could end up going the other way if a deal is struck for Martial.
Likewise for fellow defender Danny Rose, who has clearly been malcontent at the club for quite some time. The Mirror goes on to mention that Mousa Dembele and Fernando Llorente could be available as well.
The public statement released by the club after Pochettino signed his new extension implies that a major investment is in the club is coming. Poch’s statement said that he and chairman Daniel Levy “have spoken at length about our aspirations for this football club. We both share the same philosophies to achieve long-term, sustainable success.”
It could be just air kissed platitudes that we commonly see in corporatespeak. Or it could be a sign of something real and substantial.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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