Jose Mourinho has sought to dampen expectations for Tottenham's summer business by insisting his side are not in the 'same league' as some other clubs operating in the market.
Spurs return to action after a break of over 100 days by taking on Manchester United on Friday night. Despite the disruption to the campaign, Mourinho's side find themselves in a much healthier position than three months ago, with the halt in action allowing key players such as Harry Kane to return from injury.
"We go to an empty stadium, but a stadium full of your love and full of your support."
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 18, 2020
Jose's message to you all... #THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/KeHo3N7aCR
Across London at Chelsea, movements are already being made to improve the squad for next season, with the Blues' captures of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner for upwards of £80m. Meanwhile, top-four rivals Manchester United have been linked with big-money moves for Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish.
Mourinho, however, was quick to quell talk of similar activity taking place at Spurs in the summer, claiming his side won't be competing in the same bracket as some of their Premier League rivals.
"I think we are going always to be very balanced, which is what Tottenham normally is," Mourinho in his pre-match press conference (via the BBC).
"You have now examples already of clubs investing and making important movements in the market and we are still nine matches away from the end of the season. We know that we are not going to be in the same league, in the same world, as clubs that are going to do completely different to us."
The financial implications of the coronavirus outbreak will impact the way clubs such as Spurs operate in the upcoming window, with free agents, loan deals and potential swaps set to be the primary targets. While not delving into specific deals, Mourinho did state that there would be changes to his squad in the summer.
"But would I expect us not to do anything and to stay exactly with the same squad that we have in this moment? My answer is no," he added.
"I expect us to do some little important things and if we do our little important things and we improve in two, three positions that we need to improve in the squad, I am completely open to the challenge.
"I am completely supportive to the board, to the owners. We are going to improve our squad in the way we can do it. No problem."
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Source : 90min