What is best for his development will determine his transfer decision

TRANSFER TALK

Paul Mitchell and his scouting team have been watching 21-year-old (22 in February) Norwich City attacking wide man Jacob Murphy for some time now, but naturally, we are not alone in that or in making him a transfer target.

Liverpool have also been monitoring him closely, as have Everton and Southampton. The media have suggested we are in a battle with Jurgen Klopp's side to sign the youngster in January. Our approaches have a slight difference though, we prefer to buy players and have them work under Mauricio Pochettino.

It was revealed during the Watford game that Kieran Trippier has been a model professional under Pochettino, that he never complains if he isn't playing and feels he is developing his game under the Argentinian, even though his opportunities are limited. That is a key factor in why we should ensure Pochettino gets a longer term contract than the one he has until 2021.

Liverpool wants to buy Murphy and loan him back, a similar deal to the one we did with MK Dons to sign Dele Alli. That deal demonstrates we are not averse to loaning players back mid-season, or the fact we were prepared in the end to loan back Moussa Dembele to Fulham before he changed his mind about the deal.

He isn't a tall player, he stands 1.75m (5'6") and usually operates on the right wing. he is right footed and has operated as an inverted winger on the left three times in the Championship, against Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and Leeds United. In all, he has played 23 games already this season, 22 in the Championship, scoring 6 goals, 5 in the Championship, with 5 assists, all in the league. His record for Norwich is played 50, scored 15 plus 13 assists.

Tottenham will know of the Liverpool deal and will have discussions, nothing will happen without us knowing. There won't be any clandestine deals, his agent will talk to all parties and decide what is the best option for his future. It isn't a question of throwing money at a player, at this stage, it is all about development and opportunities to play.

Any move will be based firmly around that. He isn't the finished article and his game certainly needs work with reports suggesting he makes too many wrong decisions. That will naturally change for a young player if he has football intelligence and learns from his mistakes. That is part of watching a player over time can tell potential suitors.

---

Over 250 Tottenham Hotspur articles to be read at Tottenham Hotspur News

---