Here are your Tottenham Hotspur evening headlines for Thursday, January 14.
Hoddle urges Aurier to be unleashed
Glenn Hoddle has urged Jose Mourinho to unleash right-back Serge Aurier, who has often looked more effective when pushing into advanced areas of the pitch.
Spurs again squandered a one-goal lead in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Fulham as Mourinho's side sat deep and attempted to soak up pressure from an inferior opponent. And Hoddle wants to see Mourinho utilise Aurier's attacking qualities, just as he did with Sergio Reguilon on the opposite flank.
"When they’re 1-0 up they are caught in between two stools," Hoddle told Premier League Productions. "They are not sure whether to keep the handbrake on and see the game out. That’s not working.
"They have to look at it a different way and let Aurier go down the right-hand side. They let Reguilon go, but they are very unbalanced when they attack when they are 1-0 up, I’ve seen it before.
They seem to tuck Aurier in or whoever is playing right-back and they let the left side go, whereas I think they have to take a little bit more of a risk to earn the second goal and then go and win the points."
Mourinho sends Daniel Levy message
Mourinho previously has not complained about the finances that have -- or have not -- been made available to him at Spurs, especially in light of the current Covid-19 crisis and the financial pressures it has caused.
However, following the disappointing result with Fulham, he expressed frustration with the individual ability of his defenders, perhaps sending a message to Daniel Levy that he would like to once again invest in the squad.
"I think there are things that have to be with the characteristics of players. There are things that are difficult too," he said. "There are some things they have to do with organisation of the team, but other things they have to do with individual skills, individual ability, and its as simple as that."
Spurs signed seven players in the summer, including centre-back Joe Rodon and Reguilon at left-back, and are still dealing with a newly-built stadium that earns no matchday or event revenue.
Spurs interested in Kim Min-jae
Per the Mirror, Spurs are interested in South Korean centre-back Kim Min-jae, who has been nicknamed 'The Monster' due to his enormous and imposing frame.
The 6ft 3in Beijing Guoan centre-back is a rising star in Asia. The report adds that his contract expires in December 2021 and the Beijing club are believed to be ready to offload him for the right price.
Spurs were interested in the 24-year-old in the summer following the departure of Jan Vertonghen, but they could be set to reignite their interest this month as Chelsea also enter the race.
The club are eager to avoid a Willian situation when Chelsea snatched the Brazilian from under their noses.
