Pochettino Wants Tottenham Settled for Pre-season

Mauricio Pochettino is hoping to get his Tottenham Hotspur squad settled so that he can get everyone ready in time for their pre-season tour that will be held in Australia as a part of the International Champions Cup.

With the start of the Premier League season opener less than two months away, and the Premier League’s summer transfer window opening in two weeks, Mauricio Pochettino has already set his sights on trying to get his squad settled for pre-season.

At the moment no new signings have been made, but there are a few targets that Pochettino is currently looking at. For striker help, Tottenham are focusing on AZ Alkmaar’s Vincent Janssen, but have recently seen Wolfsburg jump into the mix to sign the Dutch international.

Spurs haven’t submitted a bit just yet, but initial reports had Janssen going for £12 million. It appears that Tottenham haven’t submitted an offer so at the moment they’re biding their time for now while looking at other options.

Which is why Olympique Marseille’s, Michy Batshuayi, has only briefly returned to the spotlight even though his move to join Tottenham is being held up because of his exorbitant weekly wages of £100,000 that he supposedly wants.

It’s unlikely that Batshuayi will get anything close to a payday such as that, but it does imply he wants to earn quite a lot when he decides to to play in the Premier League.

Because the 22-year-old has openly expressed his desire to leave the club, which Marseilee’s caretaker manager, Franck Passi, confirmed via Sky Sports last month, Marseille are pressured to sell the Belgian forward at the end of this month. Add in the fact that they must meet DNGC regulations and have already accounted for the fact that Batshuayi will no longer be on their books for next season according to Read West Ham, there’s really no reason to keep the player anymore.

Marseille have no choice but to sell and recoup €40 million and sign a striker who could offer them the same kind of production that Michy Batshuayi provided, if there is someone out there that is.

Jul 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino talks with his team during training in advance of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Besides trying to bolster the forward position: strikers and wingers, Pochettino must look to add some much needed depth at both central and defensive midfield.

Eric Dier made 37 Premier League appearances while Mousa Dembélé appeared in 29 games. When you add in every competition that they took part in, that number skyrockets to 51 and 34 appearances, respectively, last season.

Clearly, Dier had no rest this past term. Unless you include his one game suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Had Nabil Bentaleb not lost his form and gotten injured then he would have been a viable option as Dier’s backup. Instead, the Algerian international was practically an afterthought during the entire 2015-16 campaign.

The same could be said for Ryan Maosn and Tom Carroll when they were pressed into duty whenever Mousa Dembélé would need some rest or suffered a knock that sidelined him for a couple of games.

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Losing either Eric Dier or Mousa Dembélé — or both at the same time — for certain stretches next year can’t happen. As that will completely shift how Tottenham plays.

They would lose their shield in front of the back four (Dier) and a wizard, you could say, on the ball with Dembélé’s ability to navigate through traffic in midfield while absorbing challenges and still maintaining possession of the ball, before finding an outlet to pass to a teammate.

Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason did well enough as Pochettino’s first choice double pivot last season, but moving forward, Dier and Dembélé present a much better combination that fits well with the surrounding pieces at their respective positions around them.

Which is why Sebastian Rode (who was allegedly a target for Tottenham) was on Spurs’ radar before he chose to remain in Germany. Now it appears that Fiorentina’s Milan Badelj is another option for Mauricio Pochettino to look at and bolster a position that needs as much attention as striker and wide midfield does.

Speaking to Spurs TV, this is why Pochettino is looking to get his squad settled ahead of pre-season. Not only will he need to get everyone prepared (new signings and returning players) but it will help when everyone is on the same page once both the Copa América Centenario and European Championship are finished.

"“It’s now about being ready to compete because it’s always important to start well,” Mauricio Pochettino said.“We’re in the middle of the summer and it’s a moment to do our homework so we start pre-season clear with the squad and the players are focused on the start of the season.”“So it’s important to work hard now but exciting as well. This is our passion.”"

Next: Tottenham Showing Interest in Fiorentina's Milan Badelj

Mauricio Pochettino has the right mindset to want things to be set once both tournaments are finished and pre-season is close to starting. But standing in his way (as well as Daniel Levy’s) is the fact that for now, no signings have arrived.

They’ve been adamant that a lot of new faces won’t join Tottenham this summer because they don’t have many holes to begin with, but they do need to add more depth for next year.

Bargain deals don’t appear until the transfer window is nearly closed which could cause a delay in Pochettino’s plans if Spurs continue to operate like this.

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