Tottenham Hotspur’s financial prudence is not sustainable for a club with ambitions and will cost them in the hunt for silverware.
That is the view of Eamon Dunphy after he watched Mauricio Pochettino’s side slump to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League at the weekend, raising question marks around their ability to win a trophy this season.
Kyle Walker moved to rivals Manchester City in a £50m-plus deal, while left-back Danny Rose has claimed that many of the current squad aren’t paid their market rate as chairman Daniel Levy continues to implement a strict wage structure at the club.
Harry Kane is believed to be the highest-paid player at the London club on £100,000-a-week, while eyebrows have been raised that only defender Davinson Sánchez has joined ahead of the close of the transfer window, subject to work permit approval.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Dunphy says Spurs lacked quality options on the bench that could have made a difference in the Wembley defeat to Chelsea - describing Moussa Sissoko as "hopeless" - and can’t see Pochettino’s side improving on last year’s second-place finish in the Premier League given their cautious financial approach.
"Swansea have a player in their squad, who is not even in the team, who is earning more than most of the Spurs players," he told 2fm’s Game On programme.
"Dele Alli is on £65,000 a week. Pogba pays that in tax.
"There will be resentment in the dressing room and support for Danny Rose."
"Danny Rose is a superb player. Harry Kane is their best player on £100k-a-week. Harry Kane would be getting £350k if he was playing for any of the big clubs in Europe. That’s unsustainable.
"The genie is out of the bottle now. There will be resentment in the dressing room and support for Danny Rose.
"It’s unfair on Mauricio Pochettino who I think is a good coach, but Spurs will not be winning anything this year – maybe the League Cup – but the club is in trouble because of its policy on wages."
