Mauricio Pochettino Defends Tottenham's Lack of Summer Transfer Activity

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has defended the club's lack of activity in the transfer market this summer. 

The transfer window closes for Premier League teams at 5 p.m. BST on Thursday, and Tottenham are the only team in the top flight yet to make an addition to their squad. Speaking on Thursday, Pochettino said it would be tough to land players, although he made it clear he's content with his options, per Ben Pearce of ESPN FC:

"I am happy to keep all the squad together. There's [been] many rumours during the summer about players out. The club made a massive effort to extend contracts like Harry Kane. There are many other examples.

"The club is making an amazing effort to finish our stadium as soon as possible. This summer we finish the lodge at the training ground. It's a massive effort.

"Of course it's difficult to understand for people that Tottenham didn't sign or sell a player, but sometimes in football you need to behave differently and we're happy with our squad. If we cannot improve our squad it's better to keep our squad all together. We believe in our squad a lot."

Spurs have been consistently linked with a move for Jack Grealish this summer, although Aston Villa are not selling their star man in the transfer window, according to Sky Sports News. Tottenham had bid around £25 million for the midfielder.

With that deal seemingly unlikely, it means Spurs will begin the 2018-19 season with last year's squad, one that was able to finish third in the Premier League.

While Pochettino does have some excellent players available to him, to not have a new face coming through the door will be a blow. Football writer Harry Sherlock feels as though Tottenham have made a mistake by not getting in new faces for what promises to be a competitive campaign:

For supporters, one of the best things about the start of a campaign is getting excited about new players, and that's not something Tottenham fans will have in the early weeks of the season.

There's still reason for Spurs to be positive, as Pochettino noted. The most significant is the fact that the team will move into a new state-of-the-art stadium during this campaign and will be able to host some of the biggest clubs in the world in the UEFA Champions League.

Their young squad will be another year older and more developed and acclimatised to big matches too.

Still, supporters will want to see a team that is challenging for trophies playing in this new venue. Tottenham have tied down the likes of Pochettino and Kane to new contracts this summer, but they have stood still in terms of playing personnel while Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have all made significant signings.