Tottenham ace issues 'come and get me' plea to England's big clubs

If Danny Rose were a Chelsea player, we’d hold him as a shining example of the club’s youth development/loan army methods and madness working exactly as intended.

The 27-year-old left back joined Spurs as a 16-year-old from Leeds, excelled in the youth teams, went out on loan a few times — including successful full seasons in the Championship and the Premier League — after which he was re-integrated into the squad where he has served as a constantly improving first-choice player for the last four seasons. In the last couple years, he’s been generally recognized as the best left (wing-)back in the league, even.

His rise wasn’t all that straightforward of course — it rarely is for any player — but that’s just part of his frustrations.

“I am opinionated and I might not have long left in football.

“One thing is for sure, for the rest of this career, I will play this game how I want to play it and, while I am not going to disrespect anyone, I am going to voice my opinions.”

In this rather explosive interview with The Sun — and that’s not a joke for once, it really is jaw-dropping, raw, and revealing, especially given its timing — Rose comes across as a clear-eyed, conflicted, concerned, ambitious, frustrated, fed up ... real ... player, who knows that life is as short as it is meaningless, yet as impactful and significant as we want to make it.

In a way, it reminds me of some of Ashley Cole’s best interviews, and I did not choose that comparison by accident. Chelsea need a left back to compete with Marcos Alonso and there’s been perhaps no better English player in that position than D.Rose since A.Cole hit the downward slope of his career.

“At my age, and having missed six months with injury, I have been thinking about this quite a lot.

“I am reaching my peak and have probably only got one big contract left in me. Time is running out and I do want to win trophies. I don’t want to play football for 15 years and not have one trophy or one medal.

“Sorry, that’s not what I am about. I wouldn’t be happy with that. I want to win something.”

Rose feels under-appreciated, underpaid, and under-challenged stuck in a team that’s not showing the same ambitions as other top teams, not just in England, but all around Europe.

“I am not saying buy ten players, I’d love to see two or three — and not players you have to Google and say, ‘Who’s that?’ I mean well-known players.”

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“Anyone who says we don’t need any ­signings, I’m not buying into that. As a starting 11 we have one of the best in the league, without a shadow of a doubt, but after that . . .

“We played Chelsea in the Cup semi — Costa, Hazard and Cahill didn’t play. After 60 minutes, Conte has brought on Fabregas, Hazard and Costa and they’ve changed the match. I thought to myself, ‘Could we ever afford to play against a top team and afford to have Harry Kane, Dele Alli and a top centre-back not playing?’”

-Danny Rose; source: The Sun

Tying ambition to just transfer spending is a bit misleading of course, but it’s hard to see Spurs’ lack of spending as anything but, especially after losing a player like Kyle Walker.

“Being injured has harmed me on and off the field in a lot of ways. When you’re injured you get a lot of time to think and I’ve had a lot of ‘what if?’ moments. It’s been hard to deal with.

“One thing is for sure — I know my worth and I will make sure I get what I am worth. I am not playing as well as I have done not to get paid what I think I am worth. In any walk of life, if you think you are worth a certain amount, why settle for less? I am not that person.

“If I get to levels I reached last season — and this goes out to everybody — I will make sure I get what I am worth. I don’t know how much longer I might have at this level. I’m not going to be stupid enough not to try and get the most out of it — medals, trophies and salary. Anyone who thinks this is primarily for money, that is not the case. But I know what I am worth.

“As with everyone else in my team, in my opinion, I am worth more than I am getting. I am not speaking on behalf of other players, but that is my view.”

While Rose is “not demanding a transfer” from Tottenham, his tone is drastically different than in September, when he declared that he is settled in the South and “couldn’t wish for anything more than to play for Spurs” for the rest of his career. Back then, Spurs were “moving in the right direction” for him; now he seems disillusioned and ready to follow in Kyle Walker’s footsteps to triple his current salary (£65k) and triple the chances at trophies.

“I will say this too — I will play up north. I don’t know exactly when, but I will get back up north and play some football somewhere.

“I moved away from home (from Leeds to Spurs) at 16. Yes I’ve got team-mates who have moved away from families in South Korea and Argentina, but I have been away for over ten years now and I don’t get to see my mum that often. I am going to make it my priority before I retire to play football up there.

“My short-term focus is to get back to playing like last year and if I do that the long-term will take care of itself.

“I’m not saying I want out, but if something came to me that was concrete, I’d have no qualms about voicing my opinions to anyone at the club.”

-Danny Rose; source: The Sun

Time to be that something concrete, Chelsea Football Club.