London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho is confident Tottenham will have a new striker before the end of the transfer window as he aims to build a squad capable of dealing with a brutal early-season schedule.
Spurs face having to play two midweek matches for two consecutive weeks later this month should they progress in the Europa League qualifying rounds and the League Cup.
“Yes I want, I need a striker but I want to make it clear, the club knows that I need a striker and they also want a striker,” Mourinho said on Friday.
“Are we going to get one? I believe so. For the balance of the squad, the team needs it. Especially after the gift we had from the EFL (English Football League) and UEFA.
“We had an amazing gift that gives me after 20 years of football a unique experience of playing Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday for two consecutive weeks.”
Mourinho has already added Joe Hart, Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to his squad but does not believe the presence of Harry Kane should discourage other strikers from joining Tottenham.
“I know we have one of the best strikers in the world, I know we have the best in England but I don’t like the word ‘back-up’,” he added, speaking about problems in attracting a striker willing to be a reserve to the English captain.
– ‘Best striker’ Kane –
“A striker can play with Harry Kane — a striker that comes here is not to be just feeling that he is in that back-up situation.
“So, yes we have the best striker in the country, but we want a striker who can give us more than we have and that is to play, and why not play with Harry?”
After hosting Everton to begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday, Spurs face the first of potentially three Europa League qualifiers with a trip to Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
Should Mourinho’s men progress they will play Leyton Orient or Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the League Cup on September 22 and then have another long Europa League trip to Romania or Macedonia two days later.
Win both ties and Tottenham will have to do the same again a week later.
One of Mourinho’s main aims when he was appointed was to end Tottenham’s 12-year trophy drought and he blasted the scheduling that puts their chances in two cup competitions at risk.
“It’s not human. It is a big risk in terms of our ambitions first of all,” he said.
“If we decide that one of these competitions is not important for us we go against the nature of the club, we go against our own nature, we go against our own ambitions, our rights to try and fight for the competition.
“Which professionals, who are the people, who are the illuminated who make these decisions?
“I would like to know who makes a team play Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday. Do they want us to play with the youth team in the Carabao (League) Cup? That’s my question.”
