Did appointing Jose Mourinho cost Tottenham Hakim Ziyech?

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Tottenham Hotspur undoubtedly made a box office appointment bringing in Jose Mourinho to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

The Portuguese is one of the biggest names in football, and his arrival at the club has prompted a slight improvement.

In the eyes of some fans though, Mourinho being at the helm has seen Spurs take on a new identity.

The attacking style of Pochettino is no longer coursing through the team – instead, there is now a pragmatism and, perhaps, a conservatism.

Against Chelsea at the weekend Tottenham appeared to be waiting for an opportunity to counter, getting men in behind the ball as the Blues probed.

Few will have been surprised at the tactics, as Mourinho has become known for this approach down the years.

That style has brought him much success and his trophy record cannot be argued with, but some supporters have trouble accepting the change.

One does wonder what effect appointing Mourinho actually had in terms of player recruitment.

TBR’s view – Did Mourinho appointment cost Tottenham Ziyech?

Hakim Ziyech – frequently linked with Spurs last year, with Calciomercato saying the north Londoners were ‘in pole position’ in December – is to join Chelsea this summer, with a £33.3 million fee agreed between Chelsea and Ajax (BBC Sport).

Speaking about his move to the club’s official website, the Morocco international said: “It [Chelsea] is a big club in a big competition. I like the style of play, they play really attacking football, and that is something that fits me and that is one of the biggest reasons I chose therefore.”

Perhaps Ziyech felt Tottenham’s brand of football under Mourinho made it impossible for him to consider a move to the Lilywhites.

It certainly would have been interesting to see if Ziyech would still have joined Chelsea had Pochettino still been in charge at this point.