Mauricio Pochettino, despite his sacking last season, is still adored by Tottenham fans. The Argentine improved Spurs massively during his time at the club.
Pochettino will be remembered for making Tottenham regulars in the top four and leading them into the final of the Champions League.
He also helped a number of Spurs stars become as good as they are today. However he, like many Tottenham managers in the past, also made some questionable calls.
Tottenham’s midfield could be featuring more world-class players today had Pochettino approved two deals.
Pochettino rejected Tielemans and Asensio
The Evening Standard has revealed the former Spurs boss turned down the opportunity to sign Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio and Monaco’s Youri Tielemans during his time at the club.
The report also claims Pochettino’s scepticism in the transfer window meant Daniel Levy wasn’t always confident of getting difficult deals over the line – something that has clearly changed with Jose Mourinho at the helm.
Asensio and Tielemans would both have been excellent signings for Spurs. The Real Madrid man’s creativity in the final third combined with the Belgian’s versatility in midfield would have improved Tottenham – but Pochettino wasn’t keen.
On the other hand, Pochettino’s decisions could be viewed as a positive. Had Spurs signed the two players he didn’t want, deals for Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso would never have happened.
The Argentine has arguably been Spurs’ best midfielder since his arrival, while the Frenchman seems to have won Mourinho’s trust after rumoured trouble behind the scenes.
Some Tottenham fans backed Pochettino’s decision to reject Tielemans and Asensio, while others felt the Spurs boss made a major mistake.
Here’s how some Spurs supporters reacted on Twitter
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