Hotspur HQ
Fansided

Tottenham Hotspur Links: 10/30/15 Evening Edition

By Alexander Balano

facebooktwitterreddit

Here is the nightly edition of Tottenham Hotspur Links.

Tonight will be a mixed bag of news. Hotspur HQ will be covering topics such as Mauricio Pochettino taking a sabbatical, Tottenham being interested in Ayoze Pereze, Diego Forlan praising Harry Kane, Lille OSC’s chairman warning teams that Sofiane Boufal isn’t for sale. And lastly, there’s an article looking at how Tottenham can punish Aston Villa this upcoming Monday. Let’s get to the news.

There were plenty of managers who were asked this lighthearted question and Mauricio Pochettino was one such manager. Here’s his answer:

“Well, for me, it’s too early (in my career) for that — to take a sabbatical year! The problem, as a head coach or a manager, is that you never know what will happen. You are so dependent on your results. Sometimes the club give you a year’s sabbatical when you don’t want it! My passion is to be in football, always. Personally, it’s difficult to take any time off.”

With how Tottenham have done in a season and a quarter (soon to be a season and a half, and then two years — hopefully), Spurs have done very well under Mauricio Pochettino’s guidance. His managerial skills are top notch for a very young and hungry club trying to reach a top four spot to gain entrance into the Champions League.

During the summer transfer window when Tottenham were still looking at options to help partner up, or become Harry Kane’s backup, one player they were looking at was Newcastle United striker, Ayoze Pérez. The 22-year-old has only spent one season at Newcastle since coming over from Spanish club, Tenerife in a £1.4 million move.

After making 39 appearances and scoring 7 goals in all competitions last term, the Spanish international is already picking up where he left off. Pérez has now scored 2 goals in 10 appearances in all competitions this season. It’s not surprising that Tottenham were interested this summer, unfortunately for them the Spaniard doesn’t see himself leaving and Newcastle won’t sell him this winter or summer with new TV money coming into the Premier League next season.

RELATED: Tottenham Hotspur Links: 10/30/15 Morning Edition

Players and coaches will always praise Harry Kane no matter what. It’s hard to dislike him as a player let alone as a human being. With that said, here’s Diego Forlán, the Uruguayan striker and former Manchester United player, writing about why he likes Harry Kane.

“Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane is another player I like. Strikers can find it hard when your profile goes up, because defenders learn a lot more about how you play, but he is really good. Kane is also a team player. He can also play as a main striker but he can play behind one as well. Kane is part of a new generation of strikers who can play in few different positions. He is not like Ruud van Nistelrooy, a classic No. 9 who picked up all the chances close to goal. Kane links up well with the midfielders and he can be England’s top striker after Wayne Rooney.”

*made shorter to paraphrase the quote*

This transfer rumor was never going to pick up steam because Lille chairman Michel Seydoux was never going to sell the 22-year-old Boufal this January. Speaking on Le10 Sport, Michel Seydoux said this:

More from EPL News

“I’m not going to sell Boufal, but that doesn’t mean offers aren’t going to come in. I’m very aware of the transfer market. I never said I would be ready to sell Boufal this window. There’s no reason for him to leave.”

To piggyback on what Lille’s chairman said, Sofiane Boufal’s agent, Yvan Le Mée, “the earliest Boufal would consider a Lille exit would be next summer.” In a nutshell, Tottenham won’t be able to sign the French-born Moroccan as a possible replacement for Andros Townsend.

Aston Villa will be heading into a difficult road match against an in-form Tottenham side who have only lost one match this Premier League season. Caretaker manager, Kevin MacDonald, will be in charge of trying to stop a solid defensive unit that is tough to breakdown and the joint-best defense in the league.

More from Hotspur HQ

FourFourTwo analyzes how Mauricio Pochettino prefers to utilize a short-passing, possession-centric style of football. Yes, the Argentine manager wants to high-press as well, but when Spurs have the ball, this the type of offense that Tottenham plays in.

Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation, per FourFourTwo “relies upon infield drifting wingers (to provide multiple short passing options centrally) and minimal dribbling with the ball – this is not a team that takes risks.”

*made shorter to paraphrase the quote*

So how will this impact Aston Villa’s defense when Tottenham are on the attack? Once again, here’s FourFourTwo: “Width and space, therefore, is created via the movement of Harry Kane – a striker who can often be seen drifting wide left to receive possession. Given that Villa are playing in a deep, tentative system of late, it is his movement in the channels that will be of primary concern. Alan Hutton’s performance will be key, as will Jordan Ayew’s ability to track back effectively.”

Next: Tottenham Hotspur Links: 10/30/15

If Villa is being led by a caretaker manager rather than a full-time manager, for example, when Liverpool hired Jürgen Klopp after sacking Brendan Rodgers. It’s unlikely that Aston Villa’s players will “play for their manager” like Mauricio Pochettino warned his team ahead of their clash with Liverpool. Also, this could be a good time for Kevin MacDonald to play younger talent to see if they could be future players moving forward, if and when MacDonald does indeed become Aston Villa’s new manager.