Pochettino: Morata bottled move to Tottenham
By Harry Sykes
Mauricio Pochettino has sensationally claimed Chelsea new signing Alvaro Morata bottled a move to Tottenham – because he feared he would not get in the team.
Pochettino insisted the Premier League champions’ new £58million striker was desperate to join Spurs two years ago but did not fancy competing with Harry Kane on a starting place at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea have signed the Spanish striker from Real Madrid for a club-record fee to replace Diego Costa and fire them to another title.
Argentine Pochettino escalated the war of words between Tottenham and Chelsea ahead of the new season by making a revelation about the Stamford Bridge new boy.
“Morata talked about me in the media and said, ‘Mauricio called me.’ That was from the beginning, two years ago or more,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the Telegraph.
“He said to me, ‘Why do you want me if you have Harry Kane?’
“You know, if you go to try to sign a striker, they will say, ‘Eh gaffer, you want me for what?
“‘To be on the bench? Because it’s Harry Kane, I cannot compete with Harry Kane or Hugo Lloris or different players.’”
Kane has been the Premier League’s leading scorer for the past two seasons, with his 29-goal haul in the competition last season coming in just 30 matches.
Pochettino appears to have been inspired to speak out after he was left seething by Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte last week questioning both his and Spurs’ ambition while making public declarations of his admiration for Kane.
Spurs are the only top-flight team yet to make a signing but the Argentine coach will not break the bank for the sake of it.
Ahead of their final pre-season fixture against Juventus at Wembley on Saturday, he added to the Telegraph: “It’s so difficult to convince good players to come and then put them on the bench.
“Then the problems start. You know better than me; Kane doesn’t play, he’s frustrated, disappointed and his motivation drops.”
In other Tottenham transfer news, a Spurs player has jetted out on a private plane to hold transfer talks on a deal that is set to be completed in the coming hours.
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