This won't please Spurs fans but Saints will not sell to club's who they see as in direct competition according to an article in the Telegraph today.
There are some journalists in the National press who when they write something they know their sources are good, Jeremy Wilson is one of those, not only is he one of the most respected sport writers in the national media but as a former Daily Echo staff member he still has close contacts with Southampton Football Club.
Today he has written an article about how Saints are now reluctant to deal with Spurs when it comes to selling players, part of that is of course because of the way that the North London club have behaved when trying to tempt Morgan Schneiderlin last summer when they offered somewhere in the region of £10 million for a player worth twice that, also the way they have tried to court Jay Rodriguez and Victor Wanyama, again the Kenyan was subject to unsettling tactics with an offer far from his true worth from Daniel Levy.
Add to that the way that Spurs took Mauricio Pochettino and his backroom staff and subsequently head of recruitment Paul Mitchell it would be fair to say that Levy & his merry men are not the most popular in the Saints boardroom and Saints like many clubs are becoming exasperated by the way that Spurs are conducting themselves.
However Jeremy Wilson suggests that Saints being reluctant to deal with Spurs is not just because of the tactics of the White Hart Lane club, but because they see them as a direct rival
In the article Wilson says
"Tottenham have succeeded in taking manager Mauricio Pochettino and some of his backroom staff, notably head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, from Southampton but any effort to resurrect a deal for Wanyama, or Jay Rodriguez, who they were also interested in, will be immediately rejected."
"Southampton eventually got £24 million — more than double Tottenham’s previous valuation — from Manchester United for Schneiderlin this summer after refusing to sell him last year. "
"They are confident that their decision to say ‘no’ last month to Wanyama and Sadio Mano, who was a late transfer window target for Manchester United, will send a consistent message both to the rest of the squad and other clubs."
"Southampton’s strategy is to produce from inside the academy or intelligently scout emerging players, such as Mane and Juanmi. They are not then interested in selling those players to clubs, including Tottenham, who they regard as direct competitors. Every significant Southampton sale over the last three transfer windows has been to Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool. "
Strong words from Jeremy Wilson and ones that will not please Spurs fans who see the likes of Arsenal & United as their true rivals and not Southampton, from that point of view this season is make or break for Mauricio Pochettino, last season saw him make no headway with the fifth place being one place better than the season before but the 64 points gained 5 points less than in 2013/14.
Pochettino having had a season to bed in his ways is now under pressure to deliver, there are those inside White Hart Lane who feel that last season he got lucky with Harry Kane, a player he was reluctant to pay in the opening months of the season, they feel that if Kan doesn't find his goal scoring touch soon then Spurs might again find it hard to even get near breaking into a top four position which is where the club feel they should be, without Kane there is no plan B up front.
Daniel Levy is not a patient task master, since Glenn Hoddle was sacked in September 2003, Pochettino is the 8th permanent manager employed at White Hart Lane, 5 have not lasted 18 months, with only Martin Jol & Harry Rednapp surviving for longer, Pochettino is coming up to the time when Daniel Levy gets an itchy trigger finger and he is not afraid to use it.