It would probably be fair to say that the last period of sustained positivity at Tottenham Hotspur came under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine spent just over five years in the Lilywhites’ dugout, during which he turned them into one of the best teams in the country and led them to their first Champions League final.
However, while the former boss got plenty right during his time at the club, he also made his fair share of mistakes, especially in the transfer market.
He may have been responsible for some brilliant signings like Son Heung-min, Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli, but he was also responsible for some howlers, including one flop who cost the club a fortune and earned more than Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.
Pochettino's worst signings
Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of Pochettino’s other dismal signings from his time in the Spurs hot seat, starting with what has to be considered his worst: Tanguy Ndombele.
The North Londoners opted to spend a then-club-record £63m on the Lyon midfielder in the summer of 2019, and while it is easy to lambast the deal now, there was a lot of excitement at the time, with the Guardian’s David Hytner even comparing the Frenchman to Mousa Dembélé.
Unfortunately, that comparison never came close to being justified.
Appearances
91
Goals
10
Assists
9
Goal Involvements per Match
0.20
Loan Moves
3
Over the next five years, the former Lyon ace would make just 91 first-team appearances, in which he scored ten goals and provided nine assists, before eventually seeing his contract terminated last summer, after costing the North Londoners around £104m in wages and fees.
A far cheaper, but still disappointing, signing was that of Vincent Janssen, who joined the club in the summer of 2016 for around £19m from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
Now, while the Dutchman still cost the club a significant amount of money, he falls into the category of ‘most disappointing’ signings under Pochettino because of the expectations of what he’d do and the reality of what he managed.
For example, in the season before his move, the Heesch-born marksman won the Eredivisie Golden Boot and amassed a sensational haul of 31 goals and seven assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.
However, in his one and only full season in North London, he could only muster up a tally of six goals and four assists in 38 games, and after a loan to Fenerbahçe for the 17/18 season, he was sold to Mexican outfit Monterrey a year after that for just £6.3m.
In all, Janssen was a flop for Spurs and Poch, but he did not cost the club as much money as another signing from the Netherlands did.
The Poch flop who cost Spurs millions
In the summer of 2017, Tottenham set the record for the most expensive defender in football history when they agreed to the £50m sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.
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This meant they were now light at the back and had a hefty wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket.
So, Pochettino and Daniel Levy looked to the continent and decided to sign the up-and-coming Davinson Sanchez from Ajax for a massive £42m.
In addition to breaking their transfer record to sign the then-21-year-old, the club also decided to hand him a rather lucrative £65k-per-week contract, which, if he were still earning today, would see him make more than Van de Ven and Spence, who both make £50k-per-week despite being far better players.
With that said, the Colombian international’s first season in North London wasn’t a total bust, and he ended up making 41 appearances across all competitions for the club, but as things started to go wrong for the team in the following years, he began to pick up plenty of stick.
For example, in his final season in North London, the team conceded a whopping 63 goals in the Premier League alone, and he was labelled “deadwood” and “one of the worst players I’ve ever seen” by pundit and former professional Jamie O’Hara.
In all, the Caloto-born defender made 207 appearances for the club, in which he scored five goals and provided one assist before being sold to Galatasaray in Septbember 2023.
Transfer Fee
£42m
Wages (Total)
£65k (£20.4m)
Appearances
207
Cost per Appearance
£301k
Goals
5
Cost per Goal
£12.4m
Assists
1
Cost per Assist
£62.4m
Goal Involvements
6
Cost per Goal Involvement
£10.4m
So, when you add his transfer fee to his overall salary at Spurs, which would have been about £20.4m, the former Ajax star cost the Lilywhites about £62.4m, which breaks down to £301k-per-appaearance, £12.4m-per-goal, £62.4m-per-assist or £10.4m-per-goal-involvement.
Ultimately, while Sanchez wasn’t Pochettino’s worst signing at Spurs, he wasn’t far off, and the fact Van de Ven and Spence currently earn less than he did is an indication that the club have learned from their mistakes.
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