Mauricio Pochettino refuses to be rushed into signing a striker after having his fingers burned with Dani Osvaldo at Southampton.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager is being urged to buy back-up for Harry Kane with the transfer window shutting in nine days but he will not do so if it risks unsettling his squad.
Pochettino signed Osvaldo for a club-record £14.6million in August 2013 but the deal was a disaster, with the Saints striker sent packing after a training ground bust-up that left Jose Fonte with a black eye and suspected broken nose.
It is making Pochettino think twice at Tottenham after having vouched for the troublemaker, only to see it blow up in his face.
'Any managers or people in football who say they have never made a mistake are big liars,' Pochettino said.
'Looking back, it was a mistake. Osvaldo recognised it was a big mistake for him to come and for us to sign him. You know the problems, what happened with Jose Fonte.
'We took the decision to pull him out of the changing room because I have to have discipline. His behaviour was unacceptable and for that we were very strong with him.
'I've been asked about Gareth Bale. He is a player that is welcome in the changing room because we know him. Or if we had the possibility to sign Lionel Messi or Neymar — it's impossible to say no.
'The problem is if you bring in a player who is normal but not a good guy. For what? We don't want to bring in players for the sake of it. They have to have the right profile.'
It is no secret that Spurs want to sign a striker but, as is only natural when working under Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, Pochettino is demanding value for money.
'For me when you spend more than £15m, £16m, £18m you must have a player that brings good things: good behaviour, discipline, responsibility, professionalism,' Pochettino said.
'It's important to get it right. If we spend £25m or £30m we need to be sure this player can have the kind of impact that Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo has on Real Madrid. Or Messi or Neymar for Barcelona.
'He'd have to be our best player. It's impossible to sign players for this amount and wait for his performance.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tino-want-good-guys-Dani-Osvaldo-mistake.html
The Tottenham Hotspur manager is being urged to buy back-up for Harry Kane with the transfer window shutting in nine days but he will not do so if it risks unsettling his squad.
Pochettino signed Osvaldo for a club-record £14.6million in August 2013 but the deal was a disaster, with the Saints striker sent packing after a training ground bust-up that left Jose Fonte with a black eye and suspected broken nose.
It is making Pochettino think twice at Tottenham after having vouched for the troublemaker, only to see it blow up in his face.
'Any managers or people in football who say they have never made a mistake are big liars,' Pochettino said.
'Looking back, it was a mistake. Osvaldo recognised it was a big mistake for him to come and for us to sign him. You know the problems, what happened with Jose Fonte.
'We took the decision to pull him out of the changing room because I have to have discipline. His behaviour was unacceptable and for that we were very strong with him.
'I've been asked about Gareth Bale. He is a player that is welcome in the changing room because we know him. Or if we had the possibility to sign Lionel Messi or Neymar — it's impossible to say no.
'The problem is if you bring in a player who is normal but not a good guy. For what? We don't want to bring in players for the sake of it. They have to have the right profile.'
It is no secret that Spurs want to sign a striker but, as is only natural when working under Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, Pochettino is demanding value for money.
'For me when you spend more than £15m, £16m, £18m you must have a player that brings good things: good behaviour, discipline, responsibility, professionalism,' Pochettino said.
'It's important to get it right. If we spend £25m or £30m we need to be sure this player can have the kind of impact that Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo has on Real Madrid. Or Messi or Neymar for Barcelona.
'He'd have to be our best player. It's impossible to sign players for this amount and wait for his performance.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tino-want-good-guys-Dani-Osvaldo-mistake.html