Tottenham: Club stiffen resolve to keep trio; ‘time to win trophies’ says midfielder

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The January transfer window is a time not only of excitement for ambitious clubs like Tottenham Hotspur over which prospective signings may be coming through the door, but also a period of uncertainty over who may be heading the other way. Needless to say, given the exploits of Mauricio Pochettino’s men in recent seasons, there are thought to be plenty of big clubs circling around the North London outfit’s array of young stars, but on Tuesday the club made a statement in declaring its desire to hold onto England trio Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose in the face of any impending bids.

The three are just some of a number of Spurs’ players who are attracting attention both at home and in Europe, notably Dele Alli, undoubtedly one of the brightest prospects in English football at present, who is a target for Paris Saint-Germain according to the London Evening Standard.

Alli also has admirers at Real Madrid, whilst the reckoning at the International Business Times is that Barcelona and Manchester United are also set to join the race after being put on alert by his recent performances.

The 20-year-old midfielder signed on at White Hart Lane for an initial £5million from Milton Keynes Dons back in February 2015, and has since netted 10 goals in 17 Premier League appearances for Spurs this season, and in September the youngster put pen to paper on a new and improved contract to remain at the club until 2022.

The reckoning at the Daily Mirror is that Spurs will demand a transfer fee of at least £70m should they decide to sell the player, but Mauricio Pochettino and the Spurs hierarchy look set to dig in their heels in the face of any interest, with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, one of the most effective full-back pairings in England at present, are thought to be on the radar of Manchester United and Manchester City.

Yet Tottenham, as with Alli made the smart move of agreeing new contracts with the rest of their stars earlier in the campaign, with both Rose and Walker signing new contracts worth a reported £70,000 a week.

On signing his improved deal in the autumn, Rose said, as quoted in the London Evening Standard: “Everyone knows the club is going in the right direction and I am over the moon and I will stay here until I am an old man.”

Spurs have also done well to tie down captain Hugo Lloris and forward Harry Kane on new and improved deals, with manager Mauricio Pochettino signing his own new five-and-a-half-year deal last May.

Despite the future looking bright, with the club’s new state-of-the-art home ground to be ready for the 2018/19 campaign, one man at the club is unwilling to wait and has stressed the importance that the time is now for this up and coming Spurs side to make its mark. The man in question is utility player Eric Dier, who captained Tottenham to their FA Cup win over Aston Villa at the weekend, and has since declared that the club must start winning trophies if the current group of players is to live up to its billing.

It has been 26 years since Tottenham last won the FA Cup, and their last major trophy came in 2008 when they came from behind to beat Chelsea in the League Cup Final after extra-time.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side has drawn praise over the last two seasons for its dynamic passing style of play, built around a core of young English talent and a philosophy of bringing through young players. But with all the promise that the side has, Dier says they need to begin to reap what they have sewn at White Hart Lane and bring more silverware into the trophy cabinet.

“Football is about winning trophies”, Dier said, as quoted in the Daily Express.

“If you ask us later on in life and we hadn’t won a trophy with the squad we have now, the players we’ve got and the basis we have to do that… if in five years’ time that hadn’t happened, everyone would be disappointed.

“We’ve got to keep working hard and improving as there is still a lot we can work on before we reach that level and the whole squad is desperate to win trophies.”

The England international, who has been a key component in the Spurs side for the past two seasons, has claimed he’d love to captain the side on a regular basis after taking on the responsibility in their FA Cup third round triumph over the Villains.

“Would I like to be club captain? I hope so, maybe one day,” Dier said. “We have some fantastic captains here at the moment but I’m still young.

“Hopefully one day maybe I will get that honour but I am focused on playing for Tottenham, nothing else.

“I like to think leadership comes naturally. It doesn’t affect me. When I was younger, going through age groups at Sporting Lisbon, I was captain and I was captain before – it’s not something new to me.

“But I’m not the man to tell you if I’m a good captain or not. Other people are.”

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved by Habergaraj.