Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Tottenham Hotspur: Ex-Spur insists hiring Ledley King is a Jose Mourinho ‘masterstroke’
Darren Bent insists appointing Ledley King as a first-team coach at Tottenham Hotspur is a “masterstroke” by Jose Mourinho.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs striker admits he is surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.
Recent reports revealed that King had held talks about joining the backroom staff at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Mourinho announced his assistant Ricardo Formosinho would be leaving north London to pursue his own career as a head coach.
Mourinho has now confirmed that the club’s former captain will be linking up with his coaching staff next season.
Spurs qualified for the Europa League with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, and Mourinho dropped the news immediately after the game.
The pundit, who played with King at White Hart Lane, believes the move will win Mourinho favour with the fans.
Bent told assistant editor Russell Edge “that guy can do the lot, he can do everything – play, defend, everything, and he did it with one leg.”
“Do you know what’s mad though? I’ve always thought to myself surely when he retired one of the managers would get him on board on the coaching staff defensively. Honestly, outstanding.”
“I don’t know if it was him that didn’t or what but it didn’t happen but I always felt managers were missing a trick with him because this guy, the fans love him – that’s a way to get the fans on board because they idolise him – he’s obviously that good as well.”
“It’s a masterstroke from Mourinho if he pulls that off.”
It is hard to argue with Bent here, as King is a hugely popular figure amongst the fan base.
King, 39, made 323 appearances for Spurs, scoring 14 goals in all competitions, famously winning the League Cup in 2008.
After breaking through the ranks, the academy graduate led the club for seven years, until a recurring knee injury forced him to retire at the age of just 31.
Is Ledley King underrated?
Yes
No
The arrival of Martin Jol coincided with King’s revival, as together the duo laid the foundations that turned Tottenham into a team capable of challenging for a place in the Champions League.
The firm favourite enjoys the honour of hearing his name ring out on the 26th minute of every game to mark his shirt number and he has worked as a club ambassador up until now.
Despite the fact his playing career was sadly cut short, King knows the club inside and out, and his local knowledge could prove useful.
The Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun throughout the season and fans will be hoping the veteran can fix their defensive frailties on the training pitch.
Whether or not he will be able to make an immediate impact remains to be seen.
Tottenham fans, are you excited to see Ledley King link up with Mourinho? Let us know down below!
