Tottenham round-up: Pochettino calls for patience; in-form Spurs defender on Barcelona radar

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Without a doubt, Mauricio Pochettino’s revolution at White Hart Lane is heading in the right direction. 2015/16 yielded a Champions League finish after having been firmly in the title race for much of the season, and this campaign has seen the club once again engage in the Premier League title race only to fall away, along with progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. They did, however, suffer the blow of failure regarding their European aspirations, following a group-stage exit from the Champions League and elimination from the Europa League Round of 32 at the hands of Gent, who salvaged a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Thursday to progress 3-2 on aggregate.

Despite that setback, the club are in eyeshot of their first silverware since 2008 thanks to their domestic exploits, but Pochettino has called for patience in the club’s endeavour to add to their trophy cabinet.

Of course, the progress made under the Argentine has been obvious, but as with any big club, they will be judged on the honours they have to show for it and are thus far lacking in that department, but that is not to say that the club will not be looking to win trophies in the coming years.

Speaking to the Independent, Pochettino said: “We cannot buy time, that is the most important thing for us. Then it’s too easy to say we want to win titles and move the club to the next level.

“It takes time to create the new stadium and it takes time to create to win trophies. We are in that process to try to build “a really very good squad to try to fight with the big sides to win titles.

“In a short period, you cannot do it – only if you have money enough to buy the best players in the world. Then you maybe don’t need much time, but the process we are in and our philosophy we need time. We are showing a good basis, but now it’s time to develop the winning mentality. It is the hardest job to win titles. You can win games but to win titles, the Premier League is another step. It is the harder job to try to move on the club. To win titles you need to show all that and more quality too.”

The Argentine was also quick to stress that this project is only three-years-old, having begun since his arrival at the club. The speed in which the club has progressed in that time, however, is more than likely what has invited pressure from supporters and the media that the club must start to translate progress into silverware to avoid allowing this golden generation at the club go to waste.

“We started three years ago and we are trying to build a new team and a new mentality and a new philosophy and we are in that process”, Pochettino explained.

“It is important to be patient. I hope I can see that process and that patience and success. That is my aim and my big challenge at Tottenham.”

A key part of building his dynasty at Tottenham has been retaining their key players, and despite his and Daniel Levy’s hard work in negotiating new, long-term deals for the club’s biggest assets, that has done little to deter speculation of approaches from Europe’s big guns in the summer, and the latest name to emerge surrounding a potential move is that of flying full-back, Kyle Walker.

Walker is currently tied down to a five-year contract at White Hart Lane, and is revered as one of the club’s best players and indeed one of the best full-backs in the Premier League having broken into the England fold. He is enjoying arguably the best season of his Spurs career and has five assists to his name from the right-back position, and such progress has drawn the gaze of La Liga giants Barcelona, according to the London Evening Standard.

The Blaugrana have toiled in the La Liga title race this season and have markedly struggled in the full-back position since the departure of Dani Alves to Juventus, and are keen to finally fill the void vacated by the Brazilian, with Walker a potentially ideal fit.

The stumbling block is, of course, his lengthy contract at the North London club, which would mean the Catalans would have to stump up big money for chairman Daniel Levy to sanction any sale.

It remains to be seen as to whether or not the Camp Nou outfit will be priced out of any potential summer move, but with a whole list of candidates, they may just be prepared to pursue a cheaper and more realistic option, with Mario Gaspar of Villarreal also on their shortlist. Walker is also thought to see his long-term future as being at Tottenham, which may throw a further spanner in the works for Luis Enrique’s side. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he will, in fact, be in charge of the club next season, thus, Tottenham may be the club which could offer the 26-year-old more stability.

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved by james Harris.