Mourinho said 'it will be very difficult for Danny Rose to stay with us this season'
Friday 11 September 2020 22:26, UK
Jose Mourinho says Tottenham are "working very hard" to sign a striker.
Harry Kane is the only recognised striker in Spurs' first-team squad this season, with Heung-Min Son often deputising for the England captain when he is out injured.
But the Spurs head coach, who says he "needs a striker", is confident the club will meet his demands in the transfer window.
"I want a striker," said Mourinho at a news conference ahead of Spurs' Premier League opener at home to Everton on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
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"But I want to make it very clear that the club - if you want to call it the club or the structure above me - knows I need a striker and they also want a striker.
"I believe we will get a striker, I honestly believe so."
Mourinho has spent in the region of £30m on the signings of free agent goalkeeper Joe Hart, right-back Matt Doherty from Wolves and midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton this summer.
The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss says he "does not envy" his rivals that are free to spend big this summer, insisting he is "so happy" with the squad he has following his three arrivals.
"The other day Jurgen Klopp said Liveprool is not a club of oligarchs or belonging to countries," he said.
"We are the same so we are not the kind of club that can go to the market and spend a fortune on players."
Mourinho was also asked directly about the transfer business of his former employees, Chelsea, who have spent nearly £200m on six signings this summer.
"Good for them if the club can do it and if that is their priority... They are what they are, they do what they do," he said.
Mourinho also said he is "happy" for left-back Danny Rose to leave the club.
Rose, who has a year remaining on his contract at Spurs, is wanted by Serie A club Genoa, according to Sky in Italy. It is understood that Genoa have held discussions with the north London club for Rose.
Mourinho claimed to be in the dark about potential suitors for Rose but made it clear the 30-year-old is not in his plans for the season and said it would be "very good for him" to go to Genoa.
Rose fell out with Mourinho over playing time last season - and a video of their discussion was released this week as part of Spurs' 'All or Nothing' documentary on Amazon.
"I think it was one of the things that was very clear in the Amazon Documentary, it's that Danny is the kind of guy that wants to play all the time," added Mourinho.
"Some players are more adapted to belonging to a squad with lots of quality here it is not so easy to play and the competition is higher, other players are only comfortable if they are in a team where they play all of the time.
"It was very difficult for him to stay here with us when it was clear that for me Ben Davies is such a solid left-back.
"So it will be very difficult for Danny to stay with us for this season."
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth told The Transfer Show:
"There's a guy at Red Bull Salzburg called Patson Daka, who has been dubbed the 'new Thierry Henry', and he is someone Tottenham have been interested in during this transfer window. But they have been told that he is staying at Salzburg for now.
"Interestingly, Daka is represented by the former Tottenham and West Ham striker Freddie Kanoute so there is a relationship there and I'm sure Kanoute will be keeping Tottenham abreast of Daka's future plans.
"Another player Tottenham have kept an eye on is Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik. He's been linked with a number of clubs in the Premier League over the last few transfer windows and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has said Milik is up for sale, Kalidou Koulibaly is up for sale, all of these players are up for sale, provided a club meets their transfer fee.
"That's the big obstacle as far as Tottenham are concerned. I spoke to Sky in Italy's Gianluca di Marzio before we came on air and I asked him about this and he said it's unlikely because Tottenham are unlikely to meet the £32.5m valuation that Napoli have. He's also entered the last year of his contract so Tottenham could sign him on a pre-contract agreement in January so wait for three months and get him for free the following summer.
"There's another striker who has been spoken about and it's an interesting one - Watford's Troy Deeney. West Brom are interested in him and it's thought Tottenham are just keeping an eye on the situation with Deeney. If he does leave Watford, then it's likely to happen towards the end of the window and there's no rush for this one because EFL clubs can still do business with Premier League clubs until October 16."
