Mauricio Pochettino has overruled Daniel Levy over Tottenham signing rising stars from the Football League, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim Spurs have “moved away” from the transfer policy championed by chairman Levy despite signing the likes of Dele Alli and Gareth Bale from outside the English top flight.
The Standard report Pochettino believes it is “too risky” to recruit lower league players and there is now a strong preference to concentrate on “buying proven quality” rather than unearthing hidden gems.
OPINION
On the face of it, this seems like a genuine transfer victory for the manager as he looks to raise the bar and strengthen a Tottenham squad that appears well placed for another top-four finish this season, a fourth in a row under the Argentine. Yet, consider that the Londoners did not sign a single player over the summer – the first club in Premier League history not to do so – and perhaps it is still the long-standing chairman calling the shots. Pochettino may no longer want the scouts scouring the lower leagues for rough diamonds, but it’s fairly meaningless if the man who holds the purse strings won’t seal a major deal anyway. What Spurs must do is be ambitious and decisive both in January and next summer. The worst-case scenario, and it is a very real one amid sustained Real Madrid and Manchester United interest, is that Pochettino will throw in the towel and take the reins at a club who are prepared to back his judgement in the transfer market.