Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has promised that they will not sell any of their leading players in the January transfer window despite interest from Europe’s leading clubs.
The Times revealed this week that Chelsea and Bayern Munich are interested in signing Eric Dier, who is unhappy about his lack of appearances, while Dele Alli has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the past few days.
Yet Pochettino made it clear that any offers would be rebuffed as the pair have signed new, long-term contracts — five years for Dier and six for Alli — this season, as have England colleagues Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, as well as Denmark’s Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen, of Belgium.
The new deals were all memorable for featuring Pochettino — usually in the same dark suit — smiling as his leading players put pen to paper and the Argentinian insists that they were not an act, with all of them keen to stay at Tottenham.
“It makes no sense because it is impossible for anyone to sign them,” he said. “They are players who are in our plans today, tomorrow and for the future.
Advertisement
“We are very calm because they all extended their contracts four or five months ago — there are plenty of pictures.”
Hugo Lloris, the goalkeeper, has yet to make a similar commitment but Pochettino’s position contrasts with Arsenal’s worries over Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil. The France international’s deal expires in 2019, while Sánchez and Özil’s contracts will have only a year to run come the summer. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has said that he would rather see his best players leave as free agents than be sold to Champions League rivals before next season.
Dier has been upset by Pochettino’s decision to use him as a utility man rather than first choice in a specific position. He has been employed as a defensive midfielder and a centre back in both four-man and three-man back lines but Pochettino was adamant that minutes on the pitch were all that mattered.
“He’s 22, he’s a player that arrived here as a 19-year-old and he is playing more than 40 games every season,” he said. “This season we have played 16 games in [the] Premier League, he was in the starting XI 12 times. Like all the younger players sometimes you can use him in a different position but that is important for every coach.
“The most important thing for the young players is to be in the starting XI and play and try to improve with regular consistent games. I never heard from him that he wasn’t happy.”
Advertisement
Spurs host Burnley tomorrow but will not be in action again until Pochettino takes his side to Southampton on Wednesday, December 28. That will give his players a mini winter break, and Pochettino will spend much of his own free time watching the William Hill World Darts Championship on television with his sons.
“It’s a good opportunity to start the Christmas period by watching darts at home,” he said. “Darts is not an exciting game but the atmosphere and watching is very funny, very exciting.”
Fancy missing Christmas?
These players will be suspended for Boxing Day if they pick up a yellow card this weekend
Chelsea 5 players: Diego Costa, N’Golo Kanté, David Luiz, Nemanja Matic, Pedro
Sunderland 3: Steven Pienaar, Lynden Gooch*, Billy Jones
Tottenham 3: Jan Vertonghen, Kyle Walker, Victor Wanyama
Bournemouth 2: Harry Arter, Dan Gosling
Burnley 2: Matt Lowton, Dean Marney
Leicester 2: Christian Fuchs, Robert Huth
Middlesbrough 2: Antonio Barragán, Adam Clayton
Swansea 2: Jordi Amat, Kyle Naughton
Watford 2: Miguel Britos, Troy Deeney
West Ham 2: Michail Antonio, Pedro Obiang
Crystal Palace 1: James McArthur
Man City 1: Aleksandar Kolarov
Stoke 1: Ryan Shawcross
*Long-term injury