Pochettino wanted Tottenham to sign Man Utd star before record move
Mauricio Pochettino wanted Tottenham to sign current Manchester United captain Harry Maguire before he left Hull City, Danny Rose has revealed.
Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender of all-time when he joined Manchester United from Leicester City last summer, but it seems the England star could have followed a different route had former Spurs boss Pochettino had his way.
The former Sheffield United player originally got his Premier League breakthrough in Hull City’s last season in the top flight, before being snapped up by Leicester, where he developed into a fully-fledged England international.
And it was while at Hull that Tottenham first became aware of his potential, only to miss out on his signing.
Spurs defender Danny Rose, currently on loan at Newcastle, told the Lockdown Tactics podcast how the move could have come about.
“We played Hull at White Hart Lane and I think we won 2-0 or 3-0, I think Brucey (Steve Bruce) was manager, and straight away our gaffer was all over Harry,” he said.
“I think they were in for him. Once Poch had took a liking to him, I started to notice him straight away.”
Rose also commented on the future of Spurs star Harry Kane, who has been linked with teaming up with Maguire at Manchester United.
The left-back believes his teammate’s passion for his current club shines through, despite recent comments that he may have to leave Spurs if they cannot compete for trophies.
“With Harry, we all hope his goals and his performances will merit a trophy one way or another during his career, but Tottenham means the world to him,” Rose added.
“We know that and when you see him disappointed, it’s just one of those things that when you’re on Harry’s team in training you win. It’s not a coincidence.
“You just don’t want to be on a losing side when you’re on Harry’s side, even in training. He’s got that aura that you want to do the best you can.”
It was then revealed by Rose that Kane has also shown his angrier side when Tottenham have not been at their best – highlighting his role in their Champions League comeback against Ajax, despite not being on the pitch.
“One that sticks out is Ajax,” Rose explained. “He was injured but he came to Amsterdam and we were losing 2-0 at half-time, 3-0 on aggregate and he was watching in the stands.
“He came down and he just ripped into us basically. Just telling us we weren’t good enough and a certain player (Frenkie De Jong) was running the show for Ajax, what were we going to do about it? We had to pull our fingers out.
“He’s switched quite a few times Harry. You wouldn’t think it but when he goes, he loses it, but in a good way. He wants you to do better. He wants the best for himself but also for his team-mates.”