'Everyone brings quality' - Mauricio 'excited' by squad and new signings

Mauricio Pochettino is ‘excited’ with our business in the transfer window and can’t wait to work with the full squad back together after the international break.

Five players arrived at the Club - Davinson Sanchez from Ajax, Paulo Gazzaniga (Southampton), Juan Foyth (Estudiantes), Serge Aurier (PSG) and Fernando Llorente (Swansea).

Meanwhile, Federico Fazio, Luke McGee, Will Miller, Kyle Walker and Kevin Wimmer departed and Anton Walkes (Atlanta), Connor Ogilvie (Gillingham), Tom Glover (Central Coast, Australia), Josh Onomah (Villa) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Sheffield United) further their experience out on loan.

“First of all we’re so happy with the players we’ve added before the end of the transfer window,” said Mauricio. “We’re excited. Everyone brings quality to the team and help the team.

“It will be a long season with a lot of competitions and we need strength and competition. That can only benefit the team.

“It’s been difficult with the international break but now we have all the squad working together and we can start to build a strong team and strong mentality that we will need to compete for the whole season.”

Davinson Sanchez

Colombia international defender Davinson, 21, joined Ajax from Atletico Nacional in June, 2016 and helped the Dutch side reach the Europa League final. He won Ajax’s ‘Rinus Michels’ Player of the Year Award in his only season at the Club, an award previously won by Jan Vertonghen in 2012 and Rafael van der Vaart in 2002.

Mauricio: “Davinson is very young but one of the most important young players in Europe. He has great potential and he will help us to fight for big things. He’s so fast, so aggressive. He’ll fit in well with us.”

Paulo Gazzaniga

Goalkeeper Paulo, 25, joins us from Southampton, where he previously spent time under Mauricio and his coaching team. Born in the same town in Argentina as Mauricio, Murphy, Paulo has also played for Valencia, Gillingham and Rayo Vallecano.

Mauricio: "We know Paulo very well from Southampton, he can help us to keep our levels in the goal with Hugo (Lloris) and Michel (Vorm).”

Juan Foyth

Having established himself in Estudiantes’ first team, Juan, 19, has represented Argentina at Under-20 level 12 times and was a key member of their 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup and 2017 Under-20 South American Championship squads.

Mauricio: “Juan is so young, he’s 19, but he’s started to show his potential. There were a lot of teams interested in him but he wanted to sign for us and that’s fantastic because he’s a big talent with big potential. He’s a player for the future who will need to adapt his game now to the Premier League and Tottenham. He’s young and needs to improve and learn. He will be great for us.”

Serge Aurier

Right-back Serge, 24, joins us from PSG, where he won two Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups, three French League Cups, four French Super Cups and was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year for a second time in 2015-16. Previously with Lens and Toulouse, the Ivory Coast international has 40 caps to his name, played in the 2014 World Cup and was selected in the 2015 African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament when the Ivory Coast lifted the trophy.

Mauricio: “Serge is a senior player who has played a lot of games in Europe in the last three or four seasons for Paris St Germain. He’s played Champions League and has a lot of experience. He’s young, because he’s 24, but he’s a very consistent and regular player and good competition with Kieran Trippier at full-back. He’s very athletic, powerful and another great signing for us.”

Fernando Llorente

Spanish striker with a wealth of experience - World Cup winner in 2010, twice a title winner with Juventus in Serie A and Champions League runner-up with the Italians in 2015, Europa League winner with Sevilla in 2016. Fernando, 32, made his name at Athletic Bilbao, where he scored 111 goals in 327 matches before joining Juve. Last season, his first in the Premier League, his 15 goals helped Swansea stave off relegation.

Mauricio: “First of all, Fernando is a great professional. He’s a World champion who won the World Cup with Spain (in 2010) and that’s the mentality that can translate to us - that experience of winning big things. He scored 15 goals for Swansea last season and his character can fit very well in this team. He’s a perfect fit for us.”