DONE DEALS
Pochettino is told he does not need to flog stars as Spurs already have enough money
MAURICIO POCHETTINO revealed Daniel Levy has assured him that Tottenham will not sell off their top stars – because the club does not need the cash.
The title-chasing Argentine heads to Crystal Palace tonight bidding to bridge the gap at the top with leaders Chelsea. But Spurs have several big clubs circling their stellar talents this summer – and could yet be forced to review their wage structure despite already handing out a number of new deals this season. Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are all in the sights of the club’s Premier League and European rivals who are willing to offer much larger pay packets. Manager Pochettino quit Southampton for Spurs in May 2014 when it became clear that the Saints could not hold on to the likes of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren. But he claims that White Hart Lane chairman Levy has assured him that the club are not facing a repeat of Southampton all over again. Pochettino said: “Because we are doing good things, the clubs with a lot of potential are focused on our players. “But it is important that my relationship with Daniel Levy is so close, so far. “You know the relationship between a chairman and boss can change in a moment. But the good thing is we have a plan to try to improve. “The players that we want to keep, we will keep, because he has said to me, ‘We do not need money’. “If we sell some players it is because we want to sell some players. We will sell players because of the players we want to sign. “For our fans, it is clear that the decisions we take are to try to improve the team. To try to be more competitive next year.” Pochettino says stable Spurs are nowhere near as vulnerable as the Saints, when an exodus came six months after executive chairman Nicola Cortese left in January 2014. “It’s completely different,” he said. “Southampton was in a difficult, very confused situation. “If you remember, Cortese goes and the whole project there changes a little bit. It’s completely different. “Tottenham is a very established club with a very clear project. Of course, in football, everything can change quickly. “But today our ideas within Spurs are so close and we share them – OK, not 100 per cent, as that is not possible – but on many things we are agreed.”