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MAURICIO POCHETTINO could launch a new era at Barcelona by raiding old club Spurs. The Argentine coach is being heavily linked with the Nou Camp job with the writing on the wall for Quique Setien. Already under huge pressure after surrendering their LaLiga crown to Real Madrid, last night’s 8-2 Champions League humiliation at the […] More
PEP GUARDIOLA wants Manchester City to make a shock move for Harry Winks.
The England midfielder is facing an uncertain future under Jose Mourinho at Tottenham – but his old rival Guardiola is a serious admirer of the player.
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Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to make a shock move for Harry Winks
Winks, 24, signed a new five-year contract with Spurs only last summer under Mauricio Pochettino.
But the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton is likely to see his first-team chances limited next term.
Spurs are always reluctant to sell to big-six rivals but Mourinho is desperate to make more signings to put his own stamp on his squad and knows he needs to sell if there are to be any significant signings.
Winks is believed to be one valuable asset who could be allowed to go, if Spurs attract a bid in excess of £40million.
Despite Mourinho’s problems with £56m club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, it is highly unlikely that the Frenchman would attract a bid for anything like the sum Spurs paid to sign him from Lyon last summer.
Winks is seen as a Spanish-style midfielder, excellent in possession, and regarded as ‘very much a Pep player and not a Jose player’.
Guardiola does have decent options in central midfield but is said to be intrigued by the prospect of developing Winks to his full potential.
Winks was a regular starter for Spurs in the later stages of the season but the club fought hand to land Hojbjerg, despite stiff competition from Everton.
And the Dane has been lined up for the deep-lying midfield role held by Winks.
If Tottenham indicate they will allow Winks to go, there is likely to be strong interest from Spain and Italy.
But clubs from those leagues would be less likely than City to make a bid which could tempt Spurs to sell.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola says that Thiago Alcantara could easily play in the Premier League More
TOTTENHAM have confirmed the signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton on a five-year deal.
Spurs have been chasing the Danish midfielder, 25, for months and saw a £20million bid – plus add-ons – accepted last week.
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Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has officially signed for Tottenham from Southampton
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Hojbjerg has been brought in to shore up Spurs’ midfield
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Hojbjerg made it clear he wanted to leave Saints with just one year left on his deal
And Hojbjerg – who will wear the No5 shirt vacated by Jan Vertonghen – is now officially a Spurs player after the North Londoners shared the new on social media.
Sharing a picture of Hojbjerg in their iconic white and blue kit, they tweeted: “#HojbjergIsHere.
“We are delighted to announce the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton!”
Hojbjerg told Tottenham’s official website: “What was very important to me is I wanted to play in a club where I could see myself for many years.
“Tottenham was the one. I’m very proud, very happy, excited.
“I think there’s a fantastic future ahead for the club and I wanted so much to be a part of that.”
Hojbjerg was up for sale after making it clear he would not extend his contract at St Mary’s, which had one year still to run.
The 33-cap Denmark star was stripped of the captaincy for his comments.
Hojbjerg – who moved to England from Bayern Munich in 2016 – always had his heart set on Spurs, despite interest from Everton.
There were fears he would miss out on the switch to Jose Mourinho’s side with Spurs refusing to stump up the required cash.
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Hojbjerg has already linked up with his new Spurs pals
But the deal has now been concluded as Tottenham aim to improve on a sub-par 2019-20.
In a separate deal, Kyle Walker-Peters has made his loan move from Spurs to Southampton permanent in a £12m deal.
The 23-year-old, who played ten games for the Saints at the end of the season, also put pen to paper on a five-year deal.
Tottenham release new home kit for 2020-21 but fans slam ‘awful’ shirt More
PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG is set to get his dream move to Tottenham at last – after the North Londoners upped their bid.
Saints are understood to have accepted a fee of around £20million plus add-ons for the wantaway Dane.
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Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is set to get his dream move to Tottenham at last
While the South-Coast club have also agreed a £12m deal to bring full-back Kyle Walker-Peters the other way.
Hojbjerg, 25, was up for sale after making it clear he would not extend his contract, which had one more year to run.
He always had his heart set on Spurs, despite interest from Everton.
There were fears he would miss out on the switch to Jose Mourinho’s side with Spurs refusing to stump up the required cash.
But an agreement has now been reached and a deal is expected to be concluded over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Saints always wanted to bring in Walker-Peters, who spent the second half of the campaign on loan at St Mary’s.
They did not want to be held to ransom over the 23-year-old though and were linked to alternatives in Nottingham Forest’s Matty Cash and West Ham’s Ryan Fredericks.
But a switch has now been agreed and KWP is now set to be Saints player in the coming days.
Watch Jose Mourinho teach Tottenham squad how to say his name in training as he moans about wrong pronunciations More
JAMIE O’HARA has urged Harry Kane to leave Spurs next season if Jose Mourinho’s side are unable to break their trophy drought.
The former Tottenham midfielder reckons Kane, 27, will give the North Londoners one more season before he moves to a club where he has a better chance of winning trophies.
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Jamie O’Hara says Harry Kane “has got to leave Spurs next season” if Jose Mourinho’s side remain trophyless
Kane has established himself as one of the best in the world after scoring 188 goals in just 287 games for Tottenham.
But the England star is yet to lift a piece of silverware during his professional career.
There have been suggestions that Kane has become disillusioned with the lack of success at Spurs.
The striker fuelled transfer talk in May as he admitted he was “ambitious” and not prepared to stay “for the sake of it.”
And O’Hara reckons a major trophy would be the only thing stopping Spurs’ golden boy jumping ship.
He told talkSPORT: “He’s 27 and if he doesn’t do it next season, I think he has got to leave. Spurs need to win a trophy next season,
“[League Cup?] No, I don’t think so.
“I think if you win the FA Cup and get in the top four, you keep Harry Kane.
“If you just get in the top four next season and you don’t win a trophy, I think it’s time that Harry Kane moved on.”
Boss Mourinho recently received assurances from chairman Daniel Levy that the club will NOT have to sell the star striker this summer.
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But former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has also warned the club could lose him unless they get their mitts on a trophy.
Manchester United have been tipped to make a move for Kane this summer to pair him up with top target and England team-mate Jadon Sancho.
But Juventus want him so he can forge a prolific partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo in Italy.
Watch Jose Mourinho teach Tottenham squad how to say his name in training as he moans about wrong pronunciations More
AC MILAN are reportedly keeping tabs on Tottenham right-back Serge Aurier.
The defender, 27, joined from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 – and still has two years left on his current contract.
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AC Milan have expressed an interest in Serge Aurier
Milan technical director Paolo Maldini confirmed on Saturday that the club had held talks with Aurier’s agent last year.
Before the Rossoneri finished the season with a 3-0 victory over Cagliari to nab sixth place in Serie A, he said: “We spoke to his agent last year.
“We think about ending the season well, then in these three weeks we have to operate on the market.”
Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Aurier is Milan’s main right-back target this summer.
The Ivorian has been resurgent under Jose Mourinho having been frozen out under Mauricio Pochettino earlier this season.
He has scored once and added five assists in 33 games in the top-flight, and has reportedly turned heads at Monaco also.
Former Spurs transfer chief Paul Mitchell is now at the Ligue 1 club – having joined from RB Leipzig in June.
And Mitchell has made Aurier one of his top targets for the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports.
The defender also recently revealed he dreams of returning to Les Parisiens and ending his career with the French giants.
It is understood Spurs value the Ivorian at around £22m having paid PSG £23million for him in 2017.
Jose Mourinho relaxes on yacht during Tottenham’s summer break as daughter and son join him in Portugal More
SPURS say they are not looking to dump £65million flop Tanguy Ndombele.
Inter Milan want to offer the France star an escape route after his miserable debut season in England.
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Tottenham say they are not looking to dump £65million flop Tanguy Ndombele
But Spurs have no plans to sell the midfielder, 23, who has struggled since his club record switch from Lyon last summer.
Form and fitness restricted Ndombele to just 12 Premier League starts and he failed to impress new boss Jose Mourinho, missing the final three matches of the season with a hamstring strain.
Barcelona are also said to be keen but Tottenham say they have not held talks with any clubs and are willing to give Ndombele another chance to prove his worth next term.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy knows selling him would be too expensive.
The club would be unlikely to recoup all of the over-inflated fee they paid for him.
And they would also have to pay up or come up with a deal to settle the remaining five years of his six-year, £130,000-a-week contract.
Spurs would then have to sign a replacement on similar terms at least and it could all end up costing them more than £100m.
And with a new £1billion stadium — not to mention the need to pay off a £175m bridging loan from the Bank of England to see them through the corona crunch — that is money Tottenham simply do not have right now.
So they are having to keep faith with Ndombele in the hope he comes good or decides to chuck in a transfer request and waive payments.
Tottenham release new home kit for 2020-21 but fans slam ‘awful’ shirt More
TOTTENHAM boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly plotting a move for Porto star Luis Diaz.
The Colombian has shone in Portugal since his £6.5million move from Juniors last year.
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Tottenham are plotting a move for Porto star Luis DiazCredit: Getty
And after 12 goals from left wing, he has caught the eye of Mourinho.
Record claim Spurs are interested in Diaz and could be about to make a move this summer.
Mourinho’s transfer plans have taken a hit after the club missed out on Champions League qualification.
Due to the financial effects of the coronavirus, they were forced to take out a £175m loan from the Bank of England.
However, Mourinho has already stated he has been assured he will be backed in the upcoming window to bring in new additions.
He said: “Have I had assurances I will not need to sell key players this summer? Yes.
“There will be small changes — a big overhaul needs a lot of money.
“I don’t think there are many clubs ready to buy, buy, buy — the ones that are going to is because they can do it with or without FFP.
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Jose Mourinho says he has been given assurances in the transfer marketCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“If they do it, it’s because they feel they can do it.
“We know what we can do and what is not possible to do.
“We don’t want to sell our important players and that immediately is a limitation because by not selling big players you also don’t have big incomings.
“So we are going to be very balanced but again the objective is to improve the squad.
“I’m totally convinced we’re going to manage.”
He added: “Sometimes a club can improve by giving a better balance to the squad.
“So we are very calm and our squad next season will be better than this season.”
Despite a price tag failing to be mentioned, Diaz could be viewed as a cheaper alternative to some other targets.
And he would certainly add some extra flair into the Spurs attack.
The ace still has four years remaining on his deal with Porto. More
