Tottenham Hotspur, Villarreal reach Roberto Soldado deal

Confirmation of his arrival comes after the departure of Roberto Soldado for Villarreal on Friday, the Spaniard having failed to live up to his price tag in north London.

And in a press conference on Thursday, Pochettino said no deal had yet been finalised, but confirmed the striker had been allowed to go and further his negotiations. “Soldado five. You never know in football”. “These have been two hard years for me, but I wouldn’t change this experience for anything in the world”.

Soldado, 30, has endured a torrid time since moving to White Hart Lane in 2013 and Sky sources reported earlier this summer that he was one of several players the club had put up for sale.

Former captain Younes Kaboul has also departed the club – a route Emmanuel Adebayor and Aaron Lennon are set to follow.

“Thanks for the elegance of all the staff, of my colleagues and of the great fans, who didn’t stop cheering and supporting every second I was in the pitch, sincerely, THANKS”.

“From the end of last season, we spoke with him, with Aaron Lennon, and it’s all clear”. At the moment, there’s nothing to say.

“Of course, he is a big part of my plan, Harry Kane”, said the Argentine coach.

Louis van Gaal simply holds all the aces and I think it will be a relatively straightforward start to the campaign for the Red Devils. “It is only rumours, no?”

Pochettino, though, is close to completing the £10m signing of Clinton N’Jie from Lyon. He said: “He is fast, he is a very good player who can play in different positions”. We’re at a good level and we need to believe.

While Tottenham have been relatively quiet in terms of incoming transfers up until now, Stoke have been extremely active although Xherdan Shaqiri will not be making make his Potters debut at White Hart Lane.

“Hugo and Alex Pritchard played on Monday for the Under-21s against Everton, and Danny Rose and Townsend are training in a normal way”.