Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has four-man transfer shortlist - one players holds key

Posted Saturday, June 15, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has four-man transfer shortlist - one players holds key
Tottenham transfer news: Mauricio Pochettino has a four-man shortlist, Christian Eriksen key (Image: Getty)

TOTTENHAM manager Mauricio Pochettino is putting faith in Daniel Levy to sign as many names as possible out of Tanguy Ndombele, Donny van de Beek, Nicolo Zaniolo and Ryan Sessegnon this summer.

Tottenham have not signed anyone since January 2018, when Lucas Moura arrived in north London.

Pochettino’s selectiveness with targets combined with the club’s tight pursestrings during the new stadium development have made Spurs dormant in the transfer market.

The Argentine manager is desperate for that to come to an end this summer, though, and is relying on chairman Daniel Levy to deliver the goods.

Lyon’s Ndombele tops a shortlist of players also including Ajax playmaker Van de Beek, Roma midfielder Zaniolo and young Englishman Sessegnon, according to The Guardian.

Tottenham famously do not have an inferior budget to their top-six rivals, however, and not much will drastically change in their approach to recruitment this window.

Levy is expected to operate sensibly once more as he plate-spins bank repayment deadlines for the £1billion stadium as well as Pochettino’s requests.

That means adopting a self-sustainable model in the market, which would rely on transfer fees from departing players.

In that department, revered playmaker Christian Eriksen could be key; his contract runs out next summer and the Dane has turned down a new deal.

A few days after the Champions League final loss Eriksen told native newspaper Ekstra Bladet: “I feel that I am at a stage of my career where I would like to try something new.

“I have the deepest respect for everything that is happening at Tottenham and it would not be something negative to stay. But I have also said that I would like to try something new.

“I hope that something will be decided this summer. That is the plan. In football you never know when there could be a decision like that.

“It could be at any point. The best thing is always for it to happen quickly but in football things take time.”

The comments did not take the club by surprise, and may give them the push to offload Eriksen this summer to avoid the risk of losing him for free.

Spurs would likely receive a generous eight-figure sum for the player, potentially triggering a more active summer.

Pochettino hinted before the Champions League final that he could leave the club if they do not change tact in recruitment.

The 47-year-old is a diligent professional, though, as are his backroom staff, and he will continue to see out his contract at Tottenham, which expires in 2023.

He is currently holidaying in Barcelona and has put faith in Levy to do his utmost with signings until he returns for the week beginning July 8, when pre-season begins.