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As former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino looks poised to take the Manchester United job, attention has turned to the kind of player he might bring to Old Trafford. Pochettino is expected to take over if and when Michael Carrick is relieved of his duties and the Argentine will have more than six weeks to take stock of his squad and decide what is required in the January transfer window. United spent around £150million on a new-look midfield over the summer but former Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld believes a certain profile of player will be high on his former boss’ list - and it could well be music to transfer chiefs' ears.
Alderweireld joined Pochettino in North London in 2015, joining in the same window as Son Heung-min and Kieran Trippier, among others.
The Belgian highlighted the manager’s tendency to move for players who want to improve themselves and the team, rather than necessarily targeting those with a huge profile.
“He’s going to want to buy the players, maybe not always the biggest names, the biggest stars, but guys who desire to win, desire to become better, desire to run,” Alderweireld told talkSPORT.
“I think that was the players he bought for Spurs. That’s thing number one. Desire to become better, desire to win games, to win duels…
“That’s why I think Pochettino is the man for Man United, to change things around. Because in the past couple of transfer windows they bought good players, good quality. But they miss some chemistry, they miss the intensity, and I think Pochettino will bring that for 100 per cent.”
When asked if he felt character was as important as quality, Alderweireld referred back to the situation when he joined Spurs and the situation when he left. “From the moment I signed for him, Spurs were around sixth or seventh in the league and he said ‘we can win the league’,” the 37-year-old said.
“He brings the mentality as well. If you work hard, if you bring your A-game every day, everything you want, you can achieve. And that’s what we did.
“Unfortunately we didn’t win the league for Spurs but we came second, we got to the Champions League final. They were big achievements at that time for Spurs. So I think he will bring intensity but even the mindset will change at Man United.”
United’s situation is far more drastic than the one Pochettino inherited at Tottenham. A nightmare start to the season under Carrick has left them 18th in the Premier League table with just one win from their first 10 matches.
They did mount a late comeback to draw with Aston Villa in their most recent outing, though, giving their manager cause for optimism.
It came after another comeback in Europe, with the Red Devils coming from 2-0 down to beat Roma in the Champions League, and could give Pochettino something to work with if and when he arrives.
"To finish the game like that, we kept going, kept believing. That shows the boys’ character,” Carrick said after the Villa draw.
“We managed to pull it back in midweek [against Roma] and we've pulled it back, to a degree, today. So there's some character in that dressing room.
“There's some character to dig deep. There's a lot of quality in there and, if we can tighten up on the moments, then we can win games, a lot of games."
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