Tottenham target Jean-Philippe Mateta has been criticised in the German press.
Tottenham Hotspur reportedly want Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, but reports are emerging in Germany about his conduct.
Mauricio Pochettino appears to be keen on adding a target man in January, and Mateta certainly fits the bill given that he’s a 6ft 4in powerhouse.
Main-Spitze carried claims from Sport-BILD earlier this month that Tottenham are in the market for Mateta, with Pochettino allegedly in touch with the player’s agent.
Mateta, 22, joins Mainz from Lyon in 2018, and enjoyed a dream first season with the German side, notching 14 goals in an impressive campaign.
A pre-season knee injury means that he’s yet to play this season, but that seemingly wasn’t putting off Spurs. Now though, the new claims in Germany may just do that.
Bild, as relayed by Foot Mercato, suggest a contingent of players – led by Frenchmen Mateta and Moussa Niakhate – are becoming somewhat unpopular in the Mainz dressing room for two reasons.
The first is that they have recently refused to perform tasks in training, such as carrying water, and the second being that they dominate the dressing room with music that irritates other players.
That sounds so frivolous, but it may speak to the intricate dynamics of a dressing room. It only takes a couple of frustrating actions to create divides, and veterans Danny Latza and Daniel Brosinski are thought to be particularly irritated right now.
That’s something for Spurs to look into, as Pochettino want want any kind of negative influences in his dressing room; not to say Mateta is, per se, but the reports in Germany paint him in a less-than-perfect light.
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