Yahoo Sport 
Tottenham vulnerable after 'massive mistake' of closing Premier League transfer window early, says Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham Hotspur have been left especially vulnerable among the Premier League’s establish top six by the “massive mistake” of closing the Premier League window early.
And the Tottenham manager believes his chairman at Spurs, Daniel Levy, and executives at other top flight clubs now realise the error of their ways and has expressed hope that they rectify the situation before next summer.
Premier League clubs voted to close the transfer window before the start of the season for the second successive year but, with the European windows remaining open until Sept. 2, there remains the prospect of overseas rivals swooping for players they will be unable to replace.
Pochettino fears he could lose any of Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, all of whom have entered the final year of their contracts, over the course of the next fortnight and be left with a weaker and unsettled squad.
Whereas the likes of Manchester City - whom Tottenham held to a fortuitous 2-2 draw on Saturday - and Manchester United have the financial clout to rebuff the advances of Europe’s richest club, Spurs have traditionally been a selling club and Pochettino worries he is now in a compromising position.
“I wasn’t in agreement [with the early close of the Premier League transfer window] but at that moment they believed that was best for the clubs,” Pochettino said.
“But I think he [Levy] and a lot of people now realise it was a massive mistake. I hope that we fix the problem for the next season. I think we need to go back and operate in the same way that they operate in Europe because I think it’s massive when you go to compete in the Europa League or Champions League.
“Champions League teams can create problems in a team like us and it’s so clear that I cannot be happy as a coach that in the last three or four weeks that certain clubs from Europe can unsettle your team.
“For me it’s not common sense and we need to go back quick, hope they have a good conversation at the Premier League and go back quickly [to how it was].”
Asked if Levy now agrees with his logic, the Tottenham manager added: “I don’t know but I hope yes - I hope yes.”
Spurs rode their luck against City to leave the Etihad Stadium with a creditable point but Pochettino said he could not be concerned that the champions had been able to manage 30 shots to Tottenham’s three given the gulf in budgets between the sides.
Pochettino said he and his coaching staff had become “world champions” at adapting to a changing squad over his five year spell at Spurs and cited Kyle Walker’s £54 million move to City in 2017 as evidence of the challenges he faces to regularly rebuild.
“I don’t like to complain but when Kyle Walker was at Tottenham and we sold him to City for £55m two years ago, Kyle Walker-Peters [Tottenham’s right back on Saturday] was a kid,” Pochettino said. “Now we’ve sold Kieran Trippier [to Atletico Madrid this summer] and Kyle Walker-Peters is playing. Maybe he was the fourth, fifth option when Kyle Walker was here so I think it’s important people realise we’re building players and that they’re still young.
“So it’s a process that is completely different when you compare it to Manchester City, to Manchester United or Arsenal, Chelsea, teams like this. They are preparing themselves to win.
“We are playing to try to win but we have different resources to fight in the same race with teams that operate in a completely different way.”
Pochettino added: “I’m not complaining, only that I try to describe the truth and some people struggle to understand what the project is at Tottenham.
“We’re in a process where every season is: rebuild the team. I am so happy because that makes us stronger and be creative. But of course it’s tough.
“I’m not worried [City had 30 shots]. When you face a team like City you are exposed. We know very well our level was difficult to fight face to face with a team that in the last three seasons is building to win and are so clinical in the way that they operate and sign players.”
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