Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino does not expect the club to spend big on new players in January.
Pochettino, who is Manchester United’s top choice to permanently succeed Jose Mourinho in the summer, has been led to believe he will not be given substantial funds for new signings next month after conversations with his chairman Daniel Levy.
Spurs became the first Premier League club since the introduction of the transfer windows in 2003 not to buy a player in the summer and their last signing was Lucas Moura for £24.5million on deadline-day last January.
In October, Pochettino said Spurs needed to spend mid-season to “move on as a team” but they are now expected to limit their activity to outgoings — with offloading Vincent Janssen, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Fernando Llorente the priority. The club could also consider offers for Mousa Dembele, who is out of contract in the summer.
If a suitable player becomes available, as with Lucas, the situation could yet change but Pochettino has always stressed the difficulty of acclimatising new signings mid-season.
Asked ahead of tonight’s League Cup quarter-final at Arsenal if he wanted to spend in January, the Argentine turned out his pockets to reveal they were empty and joked: “I don’t have any money!” Asked if the club planned to spend, he repeated the gesture.
He added: “One thing you need to understand is that Tottenham built the training ground and one of the best stadiums in the world with our own resources.
“Daniel is doing that with our own resources. It’s not like people came from I-don’t-know-where and said, ‘Here’s £500m for the facilities. And what does the manager want? Five players? Okay — we’re going to invest £500m more.’ It’s important to make that clear when we compare Spurs with another team.
“We’re doing everything with our own resources — that’s why it’s massive credit for Daniel. To be competitive like we are, it’s tough. It was tough for Arsenal in a different period.”
The build-up to tonight’s derby has been overshadowed by Mourinho’s sacking and the subsequent speculation linking Pochettino with the Old Trafford job. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United’s former striker, was today named as caretaker manager until the end of the season, at which point United will be looking for a fourth permanent boss since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.