Mauricio Pochettino won’t be leaving Tottenham anytime soon, according to Spanish football expert Graham Hunter.
The Argentine has done an outstanding job at the club since joining from Southampton in 2014, and has led them to three consecutive top three finishes in the Premier League.
Over the last year, Pochettino has been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Manchester United, with recent rumours claiming the Man United hierarchy are keen to replace Jose Mourinho with the Spurs boss in the summer.
Speaking on OTBAM with Eoin Sheehan, Hunter said the likelihood of Pochettino leaving Spurs is very slim because of Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy.
“For all the teams who think they can get Mauricio Pochettino, they’re not in a fight with each other, they’re in a fight with Daniel Levy,” said Hunter.
Levy has developed a reputation for being one of football’s most fierce negotiators, who will only part ways with his most valued assets once his terms are met, meaning it would cost any potential suitors a colossal amount to get the 46-year-old coach.
Tottenham’s former director of football Damien Comolli, who worked with Levy on transfers during his time at the club from 2005-08, revealed: “In negotiations, Daniel never raises his voice or gets annoyed. He can be very cold.”
Hunter also talked about Pochettino having a conversation with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in the summer.
“They (Real Madrid) wanted him to take over from Zinedine Zidane. Last summer there was a social event and Florentino Perez was there along with his vice president, and they were talking to Pochettino. He told them he had just signed a new contract with Tottenham with no get-out clause and they basically said to him that he had blown it because Madrid would have paid the get-out clause.
“Daniel Levy is someone who understandably thinks he has a first-rate, modern, young, talented, energetic coach. On the training ground he is very good and does all the right things.”
Pochettino only signed a new £8.5 million per year contract with Spurs in May, keeping him at the club until 2023, and Hunter believes he could see out that contract unless the Argentine becomes unhappy.
“Only until the point comes when Pochettino says to Spurs that he will walk out, can any club think of enquiring about him because Daniel Levy won’t let him go. If Man United go after Pochettino, they have an enormous, and I think unwinnable, battle to get the Spurs manager to Old Trafford,” added Hunter.
Pochettino, who is yet to win any trophies in his four years at the club, has always maintained he is happy at the north London club, but in order to keep him, the players will have to bring success as they look to win their first trophy since the League Cup in 2008.
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