Chateauroux forward Jean-Philippe Mateta has snubbed Tottenham, according to his agent.
General View of White Hart Lane
The agent of Chateauroux forward Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Foot Mercato, as translated by Get French Football News, that his client has snubbed a move to Tottenham.
Since Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival as Spurs manager in 2014, young players have dominated his teams, with the likes of Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane all key players at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Youngsters such as Kyle Walker-Peters, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Harry Winks, Joshua Onomah and Marcus Edwards now look to be the next players to come off the Tottenham conveyor belt, but that doesn’t mean that Pochettino has stopped looking elsewhere for youngsters to develop.
L’Equipe reported earlier this week that Tottenham have made an offer to Chateauroux forward Jean Philippe-Mateta, who is one of the most highly-rated young players in French football.
The 19-year-old attacker hit a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Le Havre earlier this week, and his performance appears to have sparked interest from a number of clubs, with Spurs particularly keen to land him.
Tottenham flag outside the stadium before the game
However, their hopes of signing Mateta appear to be all but dead, after the player’s agent spoke to Foot Mercato, revealing that the forward has in fact rejected a move to White Hart Lane ahead of Wednesday’s transfer deadline.
As translated by Get French Football News, agent Franck Belhassen stated to Foot Mercato that Mateta doesn’t want to move abroad right now, and certainly doesn’t want to ‘skip steps’ in his development by moving to England at such an early age.
Belhassen added that he thinks Tottenham have ‘other fish to fry’ before the transfer deadline, but did hint at something of a disagreement between himself and Chateauroux adviser Jerome Leroy over Mateta’s future.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
“On the one hand there is what Jerome Leroy is saying and on the other hand what we are actually doing,” said Belhassen. “Concerning Tottenham, it is quite clear that the player does not want to go abroad. He is 19, he does not want to skip steps.”
“Few players have succeeded abroad at such a young age. He is a very reasonable boy and well looked after by his family. He knows what he wants to do. And Tottenham…as a club they probably have other fish to fry with five days left of the window,” he added.
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