Mauricio Pocchetino admits Tottenham still need reinforcements after Stoke City disappointment

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admits he still needs forward reinforcements after watching his team blow a two-goal lead in their frustrating 2-2 draw against Stoke.

Pochettino played down the effect on Saturday’s Premier League match of his decision to take off Harry Kane before Stoke began their comeback, but he agreed the England forward, who had such a memorable 2014-15 campaign, is below par after spending part of the close-season playing for the England under-21 squad in the European Championships.

The need to add another specialist target to Pochettino’s squad was made more urgent by the club’s decision to allow Spanish forward Roberto Soldado to leave for Villarreal this week.

Although Cameroon forward Clinton N’Jie has completed his move from Lyon, Pochettino’s repeated description of the 22-year-old as ‘versatile’ suggests that he is not viewed as a like-for-like alternative to Kane as a central striker.

“Harry was tired,” Pochettino said, later briefing media that he had also suffered from cramp. “He came late to preseason. But that’s normal.

“He’s doing better but he needs time to arrive in peak condition. But we knew that before. We spoke about it last season and you can see the consequence now.

“70 minutes was enough for him and we didn’t want to take risks with his fitness.”

Asked if Kane could play two games for England (in next month’s international break), Pochettino added: “I don’t know. That is Roy Hodgson’s problem.”