Former Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld has predicted the kind of players Mauricio Pochettino will target at Manchester United, saying the Argentine will prioritise desire and self-improvement over big-name signings.
Pochettino is expected to take over at Old Trafford if and when Michael Carrick is relieved of his duties. The former Spurs boss would have more than six weeks to assess his squad and decide what is needed in the January transfer window.
Alderweireld's insight into Pochettino's approach
United spent around £150 million on a new-look midfield over the summer, but Alderweireld, who joined Pochettino at Tottenham in 2015, believes a specific profile of player will be high on his former boss's list.
"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," he added.
Character and mentality at the core
Alderweireld highlighted the importance of character as well as quality, recalling his own arrival at Spurs when the club were around sixth or seventh in the league.
"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," Alderweireld said.
United's current struggles
United's situation is far more drastic than the one Pochettino inherited at Tottenham. A poor 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, following a comeback from 2-0 down to beat Roma in the Champions League. Carrick pointed to the character shown in those matches.
"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," he added.
