Matt Doherty has revealed that the main reason he joined Tottenham from Wolves in 2020 was to play under Jose Mourinho in North London (Irish Football Fan TV).
Spurs shelled out around £15m to sign the right-wing-back from Nuno Espirito Santo’s old team but the Republic of Ireland star has endured a tough start to his Tottenham career.
Doherty struggled to break into the Tottenham side over the likes of Serge Aurier and Japhet Tanganga under Mourinho and is still finding game time hard to come by under Nuno, not helped by the signing of Emerson Royal from Barcelona.
The defender has made just five appearances for Spurs this season, with only one coming in the Premier League as a seven-minute cameo (TransferMarkt).
During the last campaign under The Special One, Doherty did manage 29 appearances but only 17 games and 1238 minutes came in the Premier League (TransferMarkt).
Doherty has revealed that it was impossible to say no when Mourinho came calling.
He said: “I knew Jose wanted me before I went to Tottenham. He was the main reason why I went. Because I wanted to play for him and work for him.
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“It didn’t quite work out. That’s a regret of mine that I have, that we didn’t manage to work out.
“But I would still have a good relationship with him now if I saw him.
“When he came calling it was impossible to say no.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
Doherty looked like an incredible signing at £15m and I assumed it meant that Tottenham were going to play with five at the back, considering is predominantly a wing-back. However, Spurs carried on with a back four and Doherty has struggled to adapt ever since.
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