Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has taken charge of Tottenham following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino.
The Portuguese boss was seen as something of a guarantee of success when he entered Old Trafford in 2016, but endured arguably the worst spell of his career before being sacked last year.
That should give Tottenham fans cause for concern and we’ve picked out three reasons may struggle in north London.
Daniel Levy won’t spend the money Mourinho wants
The dynamic between Mourinho and Daniel Levy will be absolutely fascinating.
Levy did not back Pochettino in the transfer market to the extent required; the Argentine turned Tottenham into Champions League finalists on a shoestring, without the required arrivals to refresh the squad at regular intervals.
Mourinho notoriously demands shedloads of cash wherever he goes and Levy never spend a penny more than he needs to, operating on a tight wage structure and taking transfer deals down to the wire.
Mourinho spent a fortune at United and still demanded more. Levy won’t stand for that, neither will he sanction deals for established talent without resale value – something his new manager prefers.
Mourinho’s methods looked dated at United
Mourinho increasingly looked like yesterday’s man during his tenure at Old Trafford.
With Pochettino, as well as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, roaring ahead with a modern, high-pressing style, Mourinho was stuck in the mud with a one-paced United side based around avoiding errors.
He was once a master of getting players to buy into his methodology, but his man-management tactics looked out of touch with the modern player at Old Trafford.
The likes of Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw did not respond well at all.
Tottenham’s players adored Pochettino and getting the same level of dedication from his new charges will be a challenge for Mourinho.
Mourinho is losing his touch in the transfer market
Not one of Mourinho’s United signings could be described as an unqualified success.
He used to have a fantastic eye for a centre half but Mourinho was so unconvinced by Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof that he demanded another in his third summer in charge.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku have already left the club, while Paul Pogba was never the all-conquering powerful midfielder Mourinho wanted.
Under an owner who won’t spend as much, it will be imperative that Mourinho gets it right in the transfer market at Tottenham.
The evidence of his United spell suggests that will be a struggle.
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have once again been vindicated with major Man Utd call, despite Wrexham defeat
- 14 things I liked and disliked from Man Utd vs Wrexham pre-season opener
- Andrey Santos delivered exactly what Michael Carrick could have hoped for in Man Utd against Wrexham
- One Man Utd youngster has just cemented himself in Michael Carrick’s first-team plans for next season
- Four biggest winners from Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat against Wrexham
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
