Tottenham Hotspur’s squad does not need huge investment according to manager Jose Mourinho, despite looking like they will miss out on next season’s Champions League.
The north London club have enjoyed four successive seasons in Europe’s premier club competition and reached last year’s final, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.
Asked at his virtual pre-match news conference if missing out on the Champions League could impact on Tottenham’s close season squad-strengthening, Mourinho said: “A team that qualifies or doesn’t qualify for the Champions League, it makes a difference to their economical situation.
“That’s easy to understand and easy to accept. The two good things are that (chairman, Daniel) Mr Levy wants what I want. He wants what the fans want, which is to win football matches and to try to win trophies. So that’s one good thing.
“The second good thing is that we don’t need much. We don’t need many players. We don’t need huge investment. That’s not our profile as a club. With or without Covid, with or without Champions League, so I think we will manage to improve our squad which is what we want.”
Defender Jan Vertonghen looks set to leave once the season is concluded but Mourinho believes fellow defender Eric Dier will still be wit the club next season.
“My boss Mr Levy tells me that he wants Eric to sign a new contract and Eric tells me that he is more than happy here, he is more than happy with his situation,” Mourinho said. “I hope that they can find an agreement, because I am taking the team in a certain direction.”
Elsewhere, Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has decided to move on from the club and is likely to begin his next chapter with German champions Bayern Munich, manager Pep Guardiola said.
British and German media reported on Tuesday that Bayern had reached an agreement with City to sign Sane in a deal worth 45 million euros ($50.47 million) plus add-ons, with the winger poised to a sign a five-year deal with the German club.
Guardiola confirmed that there were a few kinks that needed to be ironed out before the deal could be announced. “It looks like it but it’s not already done. There are some little issues but it looks like he is going to go to Munich. We wish him all the best and thanks for our years together,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of Thursday’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.
“He will have another chapter at a fantastic club in Bayern. He wanted to leave. Everyone has their own life and he decided to move on. I would have loved for him to stay but he believed he would be better and happier there.”
City’s reign as Premier League champions came to an end after last week’s 2-1 defeat by Chelsea gave Liverpool an insurmountable 23-point lead at the top of the standings with seven games to play.
