Pochettino should stay... for now

DANIEL LEVY has one strong card to play with Mauricio Pochettino and, as a Tottenham man, I can only hope it proves to be a trump one. The two are incredibly close. And Mauricio isn’t about the short term. He really believes in the project they have undertaken, to get Spurs into their new stadium and challenging for trophies. And so maybe he can persuade him that this opportunity at Manchester United has come a year too soon; that this Spurs team are on the cusp of greatness; and that a magnificent stadium is waiting to be filled with trophies. Mauricio (left) signed a five-year deal last summer. Daniel Levy is a stubborn man. He won’t let him walk out easily. It will clearly take a world-record transfer fee in the region of £40million to get him. But given their relationship, I don’t think Mauricio would want to leave on bad terms.

He has transformed Tottenham into a team who expect to win trophies. Of course, everyone will point out that they haven’t yet. But nobody would deny that, in perhaps the most competitive Premier League we’ve known, he has lifted Tottenham into the elite. Spurs are currently ahead of United in terms of their ability to win the league and the job at United is vast.

The problem is, despite what has happened in the last six years, United are a club that craves stability and longevity in a manager. And you can be sure that Ed Woodward and Sir Alex Ferguson will be telling Mauricio that... if they get the chance. I think United is the job Mauricio would like, even more than Real Madrid. I think it’ll happen eventually. I just hope it can be delayed for a couple of years.