Mauricio Pochettino is a living example of what to do as a manager to take your team to the next level.
Tottenham Hotspur has always been competitive in the English league. They, however, were never really considered one of the big boys in England. In came Pochettino in 2014 and roughly 200 matches later Tottenham are now considered a regular in the top six of English football and recently beat reigning European Champions Real Madrid in the Champions League.
For Tottenham, he was the tenth man to take over the hot seat in twelve years. The club chairman Daniel Levy has never been shy of pulling the trigger. Pochettino buckled down and got to work. He quickly involved the players from the youth academy, including braving the induction of a young Harry Kane at the expense of the expensive Roberto Soldado, a move which gained him popularity amongst the local fans.
He developed these players and his focus on youth has seen players like Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks into fine first team players for not just Tottenham but also England. His Tottenham team comprises a majority of the England National set-up, a contribution greatly appraised by national team manager Gareth Southgate.
Pochettino has developed the young Tottenham team into pacey, aggressive, determined players with great physical stamina and a love to move the ball fast and into the goal. The team has finished in the top three in the league for two years running now and Pochettino has converted Tottenham from a decent club with good ambitions to serious title contenders.
However, despite such good efforts, a league title continues to evade the club. Let us a take a look at three players Pochettino can sign to challenge for the league title in the coming seasons.
Lucas
Lucas joined PSG after a lot of hype in the summer of 2012 with Manchester United and Inter Milan also chasing his signature. Paris ended up luring the player after paying a large sum for him which was condemned by Sir Alex Ferguson at that time. He has gone on to make 229 appearances for the club and has scored 46 goals and created 50 more in those matches.
The big money signing was expected to become one of the best midfielders in the world but the little winger with an excellent dribbling skill is yet to live up to his potential.
The arrival of Neymar, Mbappe, Draxler and Di Maria over the last two seasons has seen Lucas lose his first-team chances. With the Brazilian falling down the pecking order, a move for the winger could be possible in the January window. This might prompt Lucas to move to the north London club where he is likely to get a lot more game time. Spurs have Son, Dele Alli and Eriksen in attack and are falling short in numbers to provide quality for a long and drawn out competition like the Premier League.
Javier Pastore
Javier Pastore, the Argentine midfielder joined Paris Saint-Germain on August 6, 2011, for a fee of €42m at the tender age of 22. The technically gifted playmaker can play in several positions. His tall, slender build complemented by his work-rate allows him to operate as a winger or a deep-lying midfielder depending on the team’s requirement. The creative midfielder has a knack for not only creating but also scoring goals for club and country.
Pastore, who has gone on to make over 150 appearances at Paris, has failed to cement a regular starting place in his 6-year tenure at the club due to some unfortunate recurring injuries. The 28-year old will now find it difficult to regain a regular starting spot with the likes of Rabiot, Motta and Verratti orchestrating the PSG midfield making Tottenham a favourable destination, who have no creative holding midfielder besides the ageing Mousa Dembele.
Kostas Manolas
Manolas has been a key part of the defence at AS Roma and will be sorely missed should he choose to be lured away by offers from England. The Greek international is at a crucial stage of his career and could prove to be a fantastic signing for Spurs. He would add some much-needed numbers at the Tottenham backline if Spurs are to win the league. The marathon nature of the Premier League would see the centre-back get quality game time and would hence provide Spurs with quality cover.
