Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino warns transfer targets that talent alone is not enough

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Tom Collomosse1 March 2017

Mauricio Pochettino has warned Tottenham’s transfer targets that talent alone is not enough to impress him.

Pochettino will again urge Spurs to improve the squad in the summer as his key signings for this season – Moussa Sissoko, Vincent Janssen and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou – have failed to make a significant impression.

Tottenham do not have the financial might to match the wages and transfer fees offered by other clubs but Pochettino insists he is looking for more than mere ability.

“We try to sign players who can improve our squad not only in terms of football quality,” said Pochettino.

“If they are very good people, it is even better. We are a company. Football is the most important thing but it is not only about football.

"It is about football and people. Young players are part of my identity.

“At my first club as a player, Newell’s Old Boys [in Argentina], there was always a belief in younger talent at the club, which was given the chance to work in the first team.

“Even though we were a medium-level club in Argentina, we won three titles. It was an important time for me to understand that even though you can add good players and staff from outside the club, the academy is important as that is the identity of the club.

“For a big club, it always seems more important to spend money on players from outside than give a chance to a younger player, but we have shown that we trust in the academy and if they have faith in us, these players can have the chance to play in the first team,” he told NBC.

Although many of the academy products who played initially under Pochettino at Spurs have now left the club, Harry Kane is the standard-bearer for Spurs’ youth policy, while Harry Winks is starting to make a strong impression, too.

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