Tottenham warn Jose Mourinho that he will not be given money to spend in January

Jose Mourinho

New Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has been told that he will not be able to splash the cash in the January transfer window, according to reports.

Mourinho was handed the reins in north London on Wednesday, following the dismissal of Mauricio Pochettino the previous day.

The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with his third Premier League club.

Mourinho took his first training session within hours of the announcement as he prepares for Saturday's trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham.

Tottenham are languishing down in 14th place in the Premier League table after winning only three of their first 12 games this season.

The Portuguese will be tasked with leading his new side up the standings, but the Guardian report that he will not have money to spend when the transfer window reopens in January.

Spurs brought in Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso for a combined cost of more than £100m before the start of the campaign.

And their summer outlay, combined with the move to a new stadium, means Mourinho will not be able to strengthen his squad at the start of 2020.

The 56-year-old, who won three Premier League titles across two spells in charge of Chelsea, was made aware of the absence of funds during negotiations with Daniel Levy.

Mourinho consequently made a point of talking up the players at his disposal in his first interview as Spurs boss, as well as praising the club's academy.

The objective for Tottenham this term is to secure a fifth consecutive top-four finish, with revenue from the Champions League considered vital to their business model.

The north Londoners have plenty of work to do in that regard, having fallen 11 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City ahead of this weekend's clash with rivals West Ham.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).