Poch coy on his future as Madrid eye Spurs coach

TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino has opened the door to a Real Madrid move, suggesting he has to “let football take me wherever”.

Madrid president Florentino Perez has made Pochettino his number one choice to replace Zinedine Zidane after the threetime Champions League winner announced his shock resignation on Thursday.

Perez has admired Pochettino forsometimebutthissummeris readying a serious push to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu.

It is understood any advance from Real would be firmly rejected by Tottenham but Pochettino appears to be open to a move to the Spanish capital.

“I live in the present. I enjoy what is happening and what has to be, will be,” he said.

“Former coach Jorge Griffa told me once that I have to let football take me wherever.”

Pochettino also confirmed he does not have any release clause in the new five-year deal he signed with Tottenham last week.

Before that his future had been one of the long-running stories of Tottenham’s season.

He achieved notable success against Real in the Champions League group stage, earning a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu before Spurs beat Real 3-0 at Wembley.

He has been showered with attentionbytheSpanishmediaand when asked about the possibility of him replacing Zidane, has said that “you never know what is going to happen in football”. He did say, however, that he would never manageBarcelonaorArsenal.

AttheendoftheseasonPochettino had left his future up in the air, speculating on the club’s future with another manager, and calling on the club to “be brave and take risks”.

But after positive talks with the club hierarchy Pochettino did sign a new contract, promising the start of a positive summer transfer window with Spurs keen to invest in improving the squad, even with Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose up for sale.

But Tottenham’s summer is now likely to be dominated by one of the world’s top clubs pursuing their manager like never before, meaning it will take all of Daniel