Tottenham Hotspur fans have woken up today to a nightmare scenario.
Danny Rose’s comments about wanting to return back to the north of England, wages, a lack of strength in depth in the Spurs squad and the shortage of summer signings are nothing short of treachery.
The fact that the left-back has opted to express these vitriolic thoughts in the widespread media a couple of days before Tottenham’s Premier League season is set to start is a massive blow to the club.
To state that he wants to leave is one thing, but to cast doubts in the rest of the squad’s minds and to rock the boat so close to a new campaign beggars belief.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has shown in his time in North London that he will not cave to player power and has removed any disruptive elements from the Spurs ranks.
Kyle Walker’s sale earlier in the transfer window was surely down to the right-back’s attitude and given Rose’s most-recent comments, it appears that both of the full-backs, who are close friends, have wanted to leave for some time.
Pochettino needs to make a statement now and remove the negative influence in the club.
Whether this is to give Rose his wish and sell him to a Premier League rival (at a inflated price) or to banish him to train with the youth team remains to be seen.
The most heartbreaking element to the whole saga is that the defender joined Tottenham at the age of only 16.
Spurs have given him the opportunity to be a Premier League footballer and stuck by him when early-career performances simply were not up to scratch.
Pochettino has made him into the player he now is – but all of this has been simply cast aside – replaced by greed, disloyalty and betrayal.
Given that Tottenham are a club on the rise, finishing last season as Premier League runners-up, the only reasoning behind Rose’s desire to leave is seemingly money.
A sad state of affairs for everyone involved.