Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is set to demand a £150 million transfer war chest and permission to sell players who he doesn’t feel are committed to the cause when he meets with the club’s Chairman Daniel Levy and Owner Joe Lewis in the coming days.
The Argentinian coach has just guided the North London club to their third successive top four finish and feels that now is the time for his board to back him in the transfer market, as he aims to turn his squad into genuine title contenders.
Spurs have offered the 46-year-old a new £8.5 million a year contract, although he is said to be eager for assurances about the direction the club is headed over the coming seasons before committing his future.
Not only does Pochettino want the club to smash their transfer record to sign the likes of Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, Fulham’s Ryan Ryan Sessegnon, Man United’s Anthony Martial and Real Madrid’s Mateo Kovacic, he also expects Spurs to act decisively in offering his current star players new contracts.
He is concerned that the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen will be targeted by some of Europes biggest clubs if they are not tied down to new contracts ahead of next months World Cup in Russia.
Pochettino is also keen to offload Toby Alderweireld, Moussa Dembele and Danny Rose this summer after they have all become embroiled in contract disputes with the club in recent times.
Finally, the former Southampton boss is set to request that Levy no longer leaves his transfer business until the final days of the window as he has traditionally done.
It remains to be seen however if Spurs billionaire owner Lewis will sanction such a major overhaul of the clubs playing squad at the same time that the club has had to fork out £850 million for the redevelopment of White Hart Lane.
Pochettino is of course aware that if his demands are not met several of Europes biggest clubs will quite happily offer him a new home.
