If you’re not all that familiar with Marcelo Bielsa, just know that he’s not your typical manager.
Rather eccentric in his demands and very particular when it comes to his management, the Argentinean is widely respected around the football world, but things haven’t always gone his way lately.
Take his latest job at Lille, for example: after a great start with a 3-0 win over Nantes, his side have since struggled to score, yet he appears very reluctant to sign a natural number nine, like a Vincent Janssen.
Why did we specifically mention the Tottenham forward? Because Lille’s owner, Gerard Lopez, hinted on Wednesday night when interviewed by SFR Sport that Bielsa turned down the chance to sign Mauricio Pochettino’s man, who was being forced out of Wembley by his club this summer.
“He wanted a group he had chosen with Luis Campos. Janssen? Technically, his style of play didn’t fit into the project Marcelo wants to create.”
Rejecting deadline day deals to stay and try to break through at Tottenham, the Dutch forward will now be forced to miss most of the season, as the arrival of Fernando Llorente will make things very difficult for him.
That, and he was left out of Spurs’ Champions League squad, emphasising the lack of faith Pochettino has in him right now.
