José Mourinho Insists Spurs Don't Need Liverpool-esque Transfer Rebuild

Jose Mourinho is happy with the options at his disposal
Jose Mourinho is happy with the options at his disposal / OLI SCARFF/Getty Images
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José Mourinho has said he knows what he would like to improve his squad in the transfer window, but insisted he doesn't need a dramatic rebuild to take the club to new heights.

Having started promisingly under Mourinho, Spurs have hit a slump recently, and a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United left them sitting in tenth place in the Premier League with their European hopes dwindling.

Speaking to The Standard about potentially improving his squad in the weeks ahead, he said: “I don’t feel very comfortable to speak about [what I want] publicly. One thing is what I would like and, of course, Mr Levy knows what I would like. But I know the situation perfectly."

He went on to compare the task ahead to the job Jurgen Klopp has undertaken at Liverpool, who won a first league title for 30 years last month. While the Reds required a dramatic rebuild to get there, signing 20 players in Klopp's five years so far, Mourinho insists Tottenham have a strong enough core not to require such extensive business.

“Jurgen in Liverpool had the time to do this amazing work in these years,” Mourinho went on.

“It’s a great example for many clubs. But only Divock Origi remains from the first line-up to the last line-up. I want to believe that in five years’ time a Tottenham line-up will have much more than that from today’s team. In this team, we have lots of people of the right age, with the right quality, with the right ambition.

“So I would say that in three, four, five years’ time, the base of the team will still be around. Important players that are in the club now. That’s why I say we don’t need to make lots of changes. I believe we have an important nucleus of players.

“The process is important, where some faces are leaving, some faces are coming and you try to rebuild something. Teams don’t last forever, of course."

Concluding, the Portuguese boss says he empathises with fans' concerns - but called for patience as he looks to piece the club back together.

“Like some of the fans, I want too much too soon, but it’s very important to be realistic, to understand that there is a process. I understand the fans’ ambitions but it takes time. The good thing is that we are all together in the club. We are all very stable, very realistic, very experienced and we are going to get there.”


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