The offseason has now arrived for Tottenham Hotspur, as Spurs won’t be reunited again until training camp. However, it’s still going to be a very busy summer, and certainly an exciting transfer window at White Hart Lane, with a whole lot of topics to discuss.
Today is another active news day, so let’s take a spin through the headlines.
-Mauricio Pochettino is supposedly among the list of supposed favorites/leading candidates to replace Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, and the Argentine spoke about his future, saying that when Real calls you have to listen, but he remains happy where he is right now. With Zidane’s shock announcement yesterday, Madrid are somewhat scrambling right now as they begin their search for his successor.
“When Real Madrid call you, you have to listen to them,” Pochettino said in an interview with El Confidencial.
“In this case it does not depend on me. I have just signed a long contract with Tottenham, and am happy here. There will be lots of rumors and many things said, but I have heard nothing from Real Madrid.”
Even if Pochettino were interested in leaving to take the open gig at the Bernabeu, it would be extremely messy to say the least, as he just signed a five year contract extension last week.
-Tottenham #1 Hugo Lloris has sent a warning to his France teammate, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, ahead of the World Cup later this month. Pogba just said last month that he has ambitions of being the best player at the tournament and totally bossing the competition.
Lloris wants Pogba to step up and be a leader for the national squad.
“Paul is no longer a young player,” Lloris told a news conference, quotes via Goal.
“He has collected experience with his club and with the national team. He has a lot of talent and that label has stuck with him since the beginning. He has had a very good season, although people still debate it. As a football player and as a football fan, I think he had a very good season. ‘He has the desire to shine with the French national team. Will he be ‘the boss’?”
“That’s a strong word but a ‘leader’ is what is expected of him on and off the field. He is reaching maturity and he wants to do well. But it is also important that he focuses on his individual performance. This is the best way, to lead by example.”
-The American National Soccer Hall of Fame introduced its 2018 class today with a series of surprise announcements and former Reds goalkeeper Brad Friedel made the cut.
Friedel had a decorated club career that spanned more than 20 professional seasons, including 17 in the Premier League.
Between 1997 and 2015, Friedel made 450 league appearances in England’s top flight with four clubs: Liverpool (1997-2000), Blackburn Rovers (2001-08), Aston Villa (2008-11), and Tottenham Hotspur (2011-15).
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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