Mauricio Pochettino says he won’t blame stars if they leave Tottenham and cannot expect them to share his loyalty

Hot property | Kyle Walker, Danny Rose and Eric Dier have all been linked with moves away from the club
Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse18 May 2017

Mauricio Pochettino admits he cannot expect his players to show the same loyalty to Tottenham as he intends to.

Pochettino’s work has not gone unnoticed by Europe’s top clubs but he currently has no thoughts of leaving and plans to lead Spurs into their new stadium, which they hope to occupy the season after next.

Yet Pochettino knows it may be a different story for some of his players. The Argentine accepts that fringe players may look to leave this summer — and added that a “crazy offer” may arrive for one of his stars.

Kyle Walker - a target for Manchester City - has held talks with Pochettino about his future, while both City and Manchester United are looking at Danny Rose. United also have a close interest in Eric Dier and although they fear Spurs will not do business, the England international is keen to play in his favoured midfield role rather than in centre-defence where he has been used often this season. All three players would increase their wages significantly by moving.

Spurs have said repeatedly that they do not have to sell any player but asked by Standard Sport if players should follow his lead, Pochettino said: “You cannot blame or expect anything from a player as there are many interests around him. It is not just about the player.

“Maybe if there is a crazy offer, maybe it is so difficult to stop some players. Then there are those players who are not happy because they do not play very often. They are happy to be here but they want to play.

“A player’s situation is more individual. For us as a coaching staff, it is important to provide the club with a very clear project. If some clubs are interested, today I cannot say that I think of moving to another club.

In Pictures | White Hart Lane | 1899-2017

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“The club need to be calm and have clear ideas about what we do in the future.

“It is our responsibility. For us it is easy to be loyal and responsible and to try to finish our job. You cannot expect that from a player. There are many different interests and their point of view is completely different.

“We will see what happens but there are two different positions: one is ours as a staff, another is a player’s. We need to assess every situation.

“You need to think that there are 25 players who want to be part of the project, to fight and play.”

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