Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino this afternoon opened up on the rumours that Serie A giants AC Milan are interested in his services.
Spurs stint
Argentine tactician Pochettino made the move to North London in the summer of 2014, on the back of an impressive 18-month spell in charge of Southampton.
And the 47-year-old has since gone on to establish himself as one of English football’s most highly-regarded managers.
Despite Pochettino having splashed out only a fraction of the net spending totted up by a number of his Premier League rivals, the last 3 campaigns have seen Spurs finish in 3rd, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the English top-flight table.
In addition, the capital outfit have begun to flex their muscle in Europe over the last couple of seasons, with Tottenham having improved on their last-16 exit from the Champions League last season to advance to the competition’s semi-finals this time around, where they are set to take on Dutch giants Ajax over the coming weeks.
Mauricio Pochettino celebrates following the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final second-leg match between Manchester City and Tottenham. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Real & United links
As such, the steady rise of Spurs under the guidance of their gifted tactician has inevitably seen Pochettino linked with a move to another of European football’s heavyweights.
The two clubs most persistently-touted as potential destinations for the South American have been Manchester United and Real Madrid.
However, with the Red Devils having recently appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club’s new permanent boss, and Zinedine Zidane having made a return to the bench at the Bernabeu last month, the Tottenham hierarchy looked set to be afforded a rare break from the speculation surrounding their tactician moving into the summer.
‘Part of football’
This, though, was until rumours began to emerge from Italy that AC Milan were eyeing ‘Poch as a potential replacement for Gennaro Gattuso.
The recent struggles of the Rossoneri have seen Gattuso’s men drop out of the Champions League berths in Serie A, with the board at the San Siro said to be eyeing a big-name replacement for the Italian tactician come the end of the season.
AC Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso during the Serie A match between AS Roma and AC Milan. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Pochettino himself, however, has today moved to firmly distance himself from the prospect of taking over at Milan.
Speaking in an interview with Goal.com, the Spurs boss explained:
‘I read it in the Press, nothing else.’
‘You know how this world works. These kinds of voices don’t feed my ego.’
‘Others like to be on everyone’s lips to feel good enough, but I don’t need it.’
‘It’s part of football. If we talk about interest from other clubs, I only take it as a token of esteem.’
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