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Exodus predicted at Tottenham Hotspur

Ferdinand suggests Kane will consider exit, Mills believes Pochettino won't be at Tottenham next season

Some British football pundits have been predicting an exodus at Tottenham Hotspur following their 7-2 battering by Bayern Munich in the Champions League yesterday morning (Singapore time).

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted even before the loss that his team are "unsettled" and that it will take time to overcome the "different agendas in the squad".

He also accused his team of "giving up" against Bayern.

The north London side had performed admirably last season, reaching the Champions League final, despite not signing any players.

This campaign has not gone so well, with Spurs already 10 points off English Premier League leaders Liverpool after just seven matches.

They were also bundled out of the League Cup by fourth-tier Colchester United and are winless in Europe.

Ahead of this season, Spurs sold first-choice right-back Kieran Trippier.

He is likely to herald the departure of the entire back four with centre-backs Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld both out of contract at the end of the season and left-back Danny Rose likely to depart as well, having been expected to leave Spurs when he was omitted from the International Champions Cup sojourn in Singapore "to explore opportunities" elsewhere.

Meanwhile, star playmaker Christian Eriksen said he wants a new challenge and is also out of contract at the end of the season.

Ex-England defender Rio Ferdinand believes homegrown hero Harry Kane should consider his future at the club, while fellow former Three Lions defender Danny Mills says Pochettino will not be at Spurs next season.

Ferdinand said on BT Sport after the Bayern loss: "It leads me to look at Harry Kane. What are you in the game for? Are you in the game to be a one-club man or to win trophies?

"And then you ask yourself the next question, 'Do Spurs look like a team capable of winning trophies?'

"I don't think so, no. I think they were a better team probably a couple of years ago...

"(These questions) need answering soon. He's 26 and you only have a small window of opportunity, they come and go very quickly."

GRASS ISN'T ALWAYS GREENER

But former Spurs boss Martin Jol cautioned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. He told talkSPORT: "I said yesterday that (Bayern striker Robert) Lewandowski is unbelievable and that he'd be the best No.9 in England.

"And I think Kane is the same, and may be a little more versatile than Lewandowski.

"To influence him a bit, I would say the grass is not greener on the other side.

"I think Harry Kane is on a very good contract, and he is a Spurs boy."

Mills, meanwhile, believes Pochettino's heart may no longer be at the club he helped revitalise.

He said on Sky Sports: "Is Pochettino's heart still in it?

"I don't see Pochettino at Spurs beyond this season and maybe even not that far. He's done so well, he's improved players, he's made them a lot of money; if he does not have the backing, where's his next step?

"He must be looking at other opportunities."

Ex-Spurs midfielder Chris Waddle added on the BBC: "I am a big fan of Pochettino... but now is the time we have to look at his tactics and question him and wonder what he is doing."

However, ex-England striker Michael Owen defended the Argentine, saying on BT Sport: "Getting Tottenham to the final of the Champions League is an astounding achievement, how they have progressed over the last few years… (it's) just a sticky patch... the last person I would be pointing fingers at is Pochettino."


CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

Group A

  • Real Madrid 2 Club Brugge 2
  • Galatasaray 0 Paris Saint-Germain 1

Group B

  • Red Star Belgrade 3 Olympiakos 1
  • Tottenham 2 Bayern Munich 7

Group C

  • Atalanta 1 Shakhtar Donetsk 2
  • Man City 2 Dinamo Zagreb 0

Group D

  • Juventus 3 Bayer Leverkusen 0
  • Lokomotiv Moscow 0 Atletico 2
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