Tottenham Hotspur hope to act early on the summer transfer market as the World Cup will complicate both the timing and prices.

“It is so dangerous to go and scout players in the World Cup," said Mauricio Pochettino. "If a player plays well you will have a lot of competition and how are you going to sign him? Sometimes you need to anticipate, to think, ‘OK, this player can be good for us’, but you need to sign [him] before the tournament starts. We are thinking and trying to anticipate because it will be difficult if not.

“It’s not all about money in football, that is true. But it helps. As a coach you can have ideas about football but then you need the principal actors to deliver this idea. We are competing in a different way to Manchester City. At Tottenham we have to be brave, to believe, to work harder than other clubs that are at our level.”