Former Arsenal great Martin Keown has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino could use the speculation linking him with Manchester United to get more transfer funds at Spurs.
Pochettino has quickly been installed as the favourite to replace Jose Mourinho as United boss in the summer, but Keown doubts the Argentine will leave his current club.
“Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t look to me like he is thinking about going anywhere else,” he wrote in his ‘Tackle Keown’ column for the Daily Mail [13:00]. “It would take something pretty special to take him away from Tottenham.
“I think he might use the opportunity to get extra money out of Daniel Levy so he can compete. Look at how much he has spent in recent windows compared to the clubs he is competing with. Pochettino, to me, is Arsene Wenger 2.0. Wenger was the pioneer. He had a hand in everything, from changing facilities at the training ground to the new stadium. We’re seeing that with Pochettino.”
OPINION
This is an interesting take from Keown, and one that not many other people have had. Perhaps Pochettino could use his status as the shiny managerial toy that other clubs want to help him strengthen his position at Tottenham. The new stadium is on its way eventually in North London, and that in and of itself will likely limit the spending at Tottenham. So now is the time for Pochettino to get reassurances from Levy that he will have money to spend in the future. If not, he can simply walk straight into the job at Old Trafford. It seems slightly unlikely that the Argentine will do that, though. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to manipulate situations for his own benefit. It’s far more likely that he will simply weigh everything up before coming to a decision on his future at the end of the season. However, this is a nice thought for Tottenham fans to hold on to.