As the Premier League season draws near, Mauricio Pochettino and his Spurs are preparing for the American tour which should help them get back into shape for the season opener against Newcastle.
Tottenham Hotspur International Champions Cup schedule
The team is currently in Los Angeles, where the players are training ahead of Tottenham’s first International Champions Cup game against Roma in San Diego. Davinson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min have joined up the squad, while Hugo Lloris, Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Aiderweireld, Danny Rose and Eric Dier are all absent following their World Cup heroics.
Vincent Janssen and Josh Onomah are two other notable absentees. The Dutch striker Janssen is not in Pochettino’s plans and seems to be headed to Fenerbahce, either on loan or permanently, whereas the 21-year-old Onomah could be part of a deal which would send Jack Grealish to The Spurs.
Roma is followed by Barcelona (July 29) and AC Milan (August 1). Mauricio Pochettino is hoping these games will wake up the team’s collective spirit, as well as improve their conditioning.
“We have three very good tests and more than results, it’s about how we are going to approach the games and both collective and individual performances,” added Mauricio.
“It’s about players showing they are in condition to fight for a place in the starting 11 and to share that with our fans in America will be fantastic.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season schedule ends with a game versus Girona on August 4.
Tottenham Hotspur off-season moves: Lloris, Lamela, Son extend deals
Chairman Daniel Levy is yet to open up his wallet and strengthen the squad, something Pochettino expects him to do after signing a new five-year contract back in May.
“Daniel and I have spoken at length about our aspirations for this football club. We both share the same philosophies to achieve long-term, sustainable success…”
“…You need to be brave. Being brave is the most important thing and take risks. I think it’s a moment that the club needs to take risks and tries to work, if possible, harder than the previous season to be competitive again because every season will be more difficult. It’s not only the big clubs. The clubs in behind us like Everton, West Ham or Leicester – they are working so hard to be close to the top six.”
What Tottenham’s manager is referring to is money. He feels the club has to spend and take risks on the transfer market in order to keep up with or stay ahead of the teams chasing from behind.
Despite the lack of new names, key moves have been made during the off-season, as Hugo Lloris, Erik Lamela and Son Heung-Min have all signed new deals with the club.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer targets: Malcom, Jack Grealish and Wilfried Zaha
Tottenham is in the market for a winger. Rumours surrounding Malcom, Grealish and Zaha have circulated throughout the summer, but all of those players’ asking prices greatly surpass their market values.
Malcom is already off the table, having agreed to terms with Roma.
Wilfried Zaha is valued at €27 million, but Crystal Palace is unwilling to let him go for less than €55 million, even though he refused to sign a new deal with The Eagles.
The situation is similar to Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, who wants a move, but the new owners are unlikely to allow him to leave for less than €45 million.
Harry Kane to be back for the season opener
Despite returning to the team just five days before the season opener, Harry Kane expects to be in the starting lineup on August 11.
“I’m back on August 6 so obviously I’ll keep training until then,” Kane told Sky Sports News.
“But the Premier League starts on the 11th so we’ve got to make sure we are fit and ready to go. It’s a quick break but that’s part and parcel of the World Cup and things like that.”
His presence from the start is obviously crucial in a season in which The Spurs have PL title ambitions.
Tottenham Hotspur new stadium
With three weeks to go, Tottenham’s new state-of-the-art stadium built in place of the old White Hart Line is still a work in progress. The team was supposed to use the stadium from the beginning of this campaign, but delays in the construction mean The Spurs will keep using Wembley until it’s completed.
