1. Christian Eriksen
Since reported Real Madrid target Eriksen appeared keen to leave Spurs last summer, this move might suit all parties. Mourinho generally doesn’t have a great amount of time for skillful attacking midfielders, as indicated by his handling of then fan favourite Juan Mata during his second spell at Chelsea. Eriksen offers a bit more pace and thrust than Mata, but perhaps not enough to avoid the chop.
2. Kyle Walker-Peters
Homegrown talent Walker-Peters has almost established himself as a regular at Spurs. The 22-year-old right-back has 23 first-team appearances to his name. But Mourinho doesn’t typically give youngsters time to grow into their roles and, at 5ft 8in, Walker-Peters isn’t your typical Mourinho full-back.
3. Erik Lamela
Wingers who blow hot and cold are another breed of footballer that gets short shrift from Mourinho. Think of inconsistent Spurs wingers and you immediately think of Lamela. It’s hard to imagine a future at the club for Lamela under Mourinho.
4. Oliver Skipp
Under Mauricio Pochettino, England Under-21 international Skipp looked set to be the next youngster off the production line. Under Mourinho, it’s hard to imagine a 19-year-old being given sufficient playing time in central midfield to establish himself.
And a bonus curveball…
Harry Kane
Unthinkable in the short-term – Mourinho doesn’t have the political capital to pull off something so controversial and he needs Kane’s goals – but what about the longer term? While a prolific goalscorer, Kane isn’t necessarily the sort of striker favoured by his new boss (Didier Drogba being the prime example of that genre). Perhaps he is just about close enough to the key requirements – enough of a targetman, powerful enough, versatile enough and certainly prolific enough – that Mourinho will approve. On the other hand, many commentators have attributed Spurs’ current problems to a failure to move on players and renew the squad. Selling Kane would give Mourinho an immediate shortcut to bringing in a core of fresh faces.
