His tenure might not have ended in the best way possible, but Mauricio Pochettino turned Tottenham Hotspur into a sensational side during his five years at the club.
The Argentine took charge in 2014, turned a mediocre team into genuine title contenders, and even led the club to their first Champions League final.
This was achieved through a combination of brilliant tactics and astute recruitment, with players like Son Heung-min, Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli all joining the club under the 52-year-old’s watch.
However, for all the incredible players he brought to N17, Pochettino was also responsible for his fair share of dud signings, including one who proved to be a massive mistake and earned as much as star attacker Brennan Johnson does today.
Pochettino's worst signings
Before we get to the offender in question, let’s look at some of the other poor signings made under Pochettino’s reign, starting with a striker who couldn’t score: Vincent Janssen.
Yes, the Dutch centre-forward joined the North Londoners for £17m in the summer of 2016 following a sublime season with AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, in which he scored 32 goals and provided seven assists in 49 appearances.
Unfortunately, the Heesch-born poacher seemed like a totally different player in England and after a few years which saw him go out on loan to Fenerbahçe for a season, the 30-year-old left N17 for just £6m, with six goals and four assists in 42 appearances to his name.
Another striker who failed to live up to expectations under Pochettino was Clinton N’Jie, who joined the club for £12m in August 2015, following a promising campaign with Lyon in which he scored eight goals and provided nine assists.
However, as with Janssen, the Cameroonian marksman seemingly lost the ability to score following his move and would eventually leave the club two years later following a loan move back to France, with no goals and just one assist to his name in 14 appearances for the Lilywhites.
That said, while N’Jie was a bad transfer, he didn’t cost the club anywhere near as much as the following transfer.
Pochettino's costly mistake
The player in question is former Spurs full-back Serge Aurier.
The North Londoners opted to pay Paris Saint-Germain £23m for the Ivorian defender in August 2017, and while the move raised a few eyebrows at the time due to him receiving a suspended sentence for assaulting a police officer a year earlier, his performances on the pitch were deemed good enough.
For example, in 32 appearances for the French giants in the 16/17 campaign, he produced a reasonable tally of five assists, including one against North London rivals Arsenal in the Champions League.
Unfortunately, instead of getting a reliable and effective attacking right-back, the Lilywhites got an unreliable and “erratic” liability, as dubbed by former icon Teddy Sheringham, who managed to get himself sent off on his first Premier League start for the club.
The Ouragahio-born enigma would get himself sent off for a second time just a couple of years later in a league game against Southampton, and when he gave away a pointless foul in the 2021 League Cup final that led to Manchester City’s winner, Jamie Carragher blasted him.
Truth be told, the criticism was incredibly scathing with the Sky Sports pundit labelling him as “one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football” and the kind of player who would “put you off management with the amount of crazy decision he makes.”
It was in the aftermath of the defeat that his contract, which saw him earn £80k-per-week in his first season at the club and £70k-per-week for the next three, was finally terminated by mutual consent, with him having scored eight goals and provided 17 assists in 110 appearances.
So, when combined, the former PSG ace earned a whopping £15m in wages from the Lilywhites, meaning his total cost to the club, including his fee, was an enormous £38m, which does not seem like fair value considering the performances he put in.
Transfer Fee
£23m
Total Wages
£15m
Appearances
110
Cost per Appearance
£345k
Goals
8
Cost per Goal
£4.7m
Assists
17
Cost per Assist
£2.2m
Goal Involvements
25
Cost per Goal Involvement
£1.5m
When broken down, that comes to £345k-per-appearance, £4.7m-per-goal, £2.2m-per-assist and £1.5m-per-goal-involvement.
Ultimately, while he was able to put in some good performances here and there, the poor discipline, huge costs, and disastrous foul in the League Cup Final make it hard to look at Aurier’s transfer as anything other than a massive failure, especially when he earned as much as Johnson is today.
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