It’s hard to argue that Jose Mourinho hasn’t already had a huge effect on some of the people at Tottenham.
Indeed, Spurs have turned their fortunes around under Mourinho, they’re now in a cup semi-final, and the title race is well and truly on. However, perhaps his biggest achievement is getting the most out of some players who looked to be on the decline.
Take Eric Dier fo instance, the England international was faltering in the midfield when Mourinho arrives, but a move to centre-half has seemingly re-invigorated his career.
Tanguy Ndombele is another who has had his career revitalised by the Portuguese gaffer, but despite the fact that Mourinho has got these players’ careers on the right track, they may not be the biggest winners from his influence at Tottenham.
Indeed, the person who may benefit most at the club may actually be a backroom staff member.
Ledley King has gotten back into coaching after seemingly giving up on that path back in 2018, and it seems as though he’s now working under the perfect mentor.
Indeed, Mourinho, much like Bobby Robson who he learned from, is developing a handy knack of not only developing great players, but helping bring through the next generation of managers.
Just look at some of Mourinho’s disciples and what they’re doing now.
Brendan Rodgers has carved out an incredible career for himself and his Leicester side actually sit above Mourinho’s Spurs right now, while Steve Clarke has just helped Scotland qualify for their first major international tournament in over 20 years.
Nuno Espirito Santo and Frank Lampard are also two Premier League managers who learnt a lot from Mourinho, playing under him for large periods of his career.
It clearly seems as though Mourinho has plenty of managerial wisdom to impart, and King could be the next man on the conveyer belt of top coaches that have honed their craft while working closely with the Tottenham manager.
It will certainly be interesting to watch how the next few years of King’s coaching career unfold, as if he follows the trend that has been set so far, he could excel at this type of thing a few years down the line.
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