Mauricio Pochettino must force Tottenham, Daniel Levy to spend

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino must implore Daniel Levy to open his wallet and spend to help the club grow beyond the 2016-17 season.

The yearly tradition that is Tottenham Hotspur supporters holding onto hope Spurs, specifically club chairman Daniel Levy, will open the figurative wallet and spend money to bolster a squad capable of achieving great accomplishments is set to continue this summer. Tottenham fans have a new ally in this unannounced war, however, in stellar manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino is quickly establishing himself as Tottenham’s greatest manager of the Premier League era, if he hasn’t already managed to climb to the top of the mountain. Under Pochettino, Spurs have qualified for the Champions League in back-to-back seasons, the club finished on 86 points and second in the league table behind only Chelsea, and Tottenham feature arguably the most promising starting XI in all of England.

Most notably, Pochettino deserves credit for forming diamonds from the coals that were the younger talents within the squad. Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier all come to mind as footballers who improved learning underneath and playing within Pochettino’s system. In short, Pochettino is currently Tottenham’s top asset.

With that said, words recently spoken by Rose, per the BBC, could leave a supporter wondering if it’s business as usual as Spurs. Rose discussed the notion fullbacks such as himself and Walker will “go for a lot of money” over the next several years, and that some within Spurs may view Tottenham as a “nearly club” that routinely falls short of winning silverware.

Whether or not Pochettino rates Walker, who may or may have had his head turned by a potential move to Manchester City, is anybody’s guess. Pochettino sat Walker multiple times during the final couple of months of the season, leading to speculation the 27-year-old entered his manager’s doghouse for one reason or another. Assuming Pochettino is ready to move on, the matter should be done and dusted, with Spurs cashing-in on a sale, as quickly as possible.

Say, for the sake of argument, Pochettino is keen on keeping Walker at least one more season while Spurs play home matches at Wembley and attempt to get past the group stages of the Champions League. Money, alone, can no longer be an excuse, as Levy must be willing to increase the wages of the club’s top stars. Neither Pochettino nor anybody else expects Tottenham to set records on transfer acquisitions, but cash can and should be splashed to keep those within the squad happy another year or two.

Pochettino has plenty of leverage if he were to demand his favored starting XI remains intact through the start of September. Walker, Rose, Kane, Alli, Eriksen, Eric Dier and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris are all signed up through at least 2020. Jan Vertonghen, Dembele and Toby Alderweireld would all help open Tottenham’s new stadium that should be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season per the terms of their current contracts.