He’s back! Yes, Jose Mourinho is back in the Premier League, for a fourth go around, with his third team. The fun begins in a matter of hours, when his news side, Tottenham Hotspur takes on West Ham United at the London Stadium. You’ll never find a more anticipated match-up between a 14th place and 16th place side.
West Ham tried to mind game the master of the mind games, shortly after the hire was made official, but quickly realized the error of their ways and deleted the tweet. Let’s see now if it backfires on them.
Mourinho gave a very long detailed introductory press conference, and the whole session is embedded for you here below:
A lot of topics were covered, and written about and discussed from this session, including the idea of potentially selling talisman Harry Kane. The face of the franchise, and of English football, is one of the most valuable players in the entire world, according to anybody who does these kinds of valuations.
Kane has been linked in transfer rumors to several teams, most often two that Mourinho formerly managed, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Of course, it’s just not going to happen, and the Special One reiterated that.
“When you try to buy Kane it’s an impossible mission,” Mourinho said.
He’s one of the best strikers in the world. You just need his team — England or Tottenham — to go with him to the next level. What’s the next level? Titles.”
“I think he needs to win with us, with England, he needs to win something to highlight the quality that he has as a player, the goals he scores, what he brings to the team.”
According to the Guardian, the deal Kane signed last year is worth about $265,000 per week; double his previous wages. He earns approximately $17.6 million per year with bonuses, meaning that his six-year deal is worth almost $105 million in total. Transfermarkt rates his open market value as $171 million.
The 26-year-old has scored 131 times in 189 appearances for Spurs; 32 times in 45 appearances for England.
Tottenham Hotspur at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: Nov. 23, 12:30 pm London Stadium
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United
More on the Mourinho hiring: go to this link and also this link
Google’s result probability: Tottenham Hotspur win 54%, Draw 24%, West Ham United victory 22%
Form Guide: Tottenham Hotspur- DDLDL West Ham United- LLDLL
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1, West Ham United 0
Mourinho will play uhm, uhh “pragmatic,” but he’ll get the W.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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