‘Tottenham face huge overhaul as star players ready to quit en masse’
Tottenham Hotspur could be set back for years with a mass player exodus certain if they fail to beat Manchester United in the Europa League Final next week.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson feared what the future could hold for Tottenham if they lose on 21 May.
With Man United and Tottenham sat 16th and 17th respectively in the Premier League table, success in Bilbao will secure Champions League qualification and salvage an awful season for one of the two clubs.
However, a defeat for Spurs could be particularly fraught and result in a battle to keep hold of their best players, after Robinson also told Football Insider that Ange Postecoglou will be sacked regardless of the result.
Pedro Porro could be one of several Tottenham players who looks to jump ship after a season featuring 20 losses and counting in the league, with a complete restructure on the cards if Spurs fail to beat Man United.
Europa League defeat to ‘cast Tottenham back before Mourinho’
Football Insider revealed on 2 May that Daniel Levy is yet to make a decision on Postecoglou’s future and will wait until after the Europa League final, but Robinson feared the worst if he loses on Wednesday.
Robinson, a member of Spurs’ last trophy lift in the form of the 2008 League Cup, said on the new Inside Track that a lowly Premier League finish and no European football would leave a “mess” in North London.
“For Tottenham, it’s more important because of the aftermath that a defeat in that final would leave”, Robinson told Football Insider.
“A defeat in that final for Tottenham would leave them managerless – they’ve got 20 defeats as we talk at the moment.
“They’re about to play Aston Villa and pick up their 21st defeat this season, so there’s a team that’s finishing 17th the Premier League [with] 21 defeats, maybe 22 by the end of the season.
“No European football, no Champions League budget, looking for a new manager and looking to keep hold of players, rather than attracting new players and restructuring.
“If Tottenham don’t win this Europa League, they’re back to where they were before Nuno Espirito Santo came in, before Jose [Mourinho] came in; they’re in a whole rebuild, a whole restructure.
“The wake which a defeat leaves at Tottenham, is such a mess.”
European failure to force drop in transfer standards at Tottenham
With Postecoglou seen as a dead man walking ahead of the summer transfer window, Robinson has told Football Insider that Levy should kick-start their transfer business regardless of who is in the dugout.
However, a 17th-placed league finish and no Champions League budget will leave Spurs at the back of the queue to sign their top transfer targets, with an ambitious move for Eberechi Eze already lined up.
Tottenham could even miss out on their managerial targets if Saudi Pro League interest in Marco Silva comes to pass at Fulham, and all the signs point towards a summer of uncertaincy for Levy and the Spurs hierarchy.