Pochettino puts Alli future aside for Spurs title charge

Mauricio Pochettino is focused on the Premier League title bid that has seen Tottenham stars such as Dele Alli linked to big-money moves.

Published : Apr 26, 2017 12:59 IST , London

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino conceded there are no guarantees Dele Alli will be with the club next season.

England midfielder Alli has earned rave reviews for his performances with Pochettino's Premier League title-chaser this season, scoring his 20th goal of the campaign in Saturday's 4-2 FA Cup semifinal defeat to Chelsea at Wembley, before scooping the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

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His list of admirers is purported to include Real Madrid, while Barcelona great Xavi remarked that Alli would fit the bill as his former boss Pep Guardiola looks to revitalise an ailing Manchester City over the coming months.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and full-backs Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are also supposedly being eyed by rival clubs – an irritation that comes as Pochettino's price for being four points behind leaders Chelsea with six games to play.

Spurs faces in-form Crystal Palace on Wednesday and its boss is focused on finishing the season strongly and not becoming distracted by transfer rumours.

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Asked whether Alli would still be at Tottenham next term, he said: "I cannot guarantee anything in life.

"The most important thing is to enjoy the present. I am so sad [about the sudden death of Tottenham's Under-23 coach Ugo Ehiogu last week] – don't think about the future. In the future we will take the best decisions for the club.

"After three years you can see how the team is improving every year and all our decisions so far have been good.

"Trust in the club that we will take the best decision for the club to achieve [our goals], improve next season again. That's the most important thing.

"We care a lot about the club and now we must focus on the present, try to help the team and the club to be there if Chelsea drop points. And it will be special if in the last season at White Hart Lane we win the Premier League.

"I want the last three to four weeks to be a big effort from everyone to achieve [something]. Then we can congratulate everyone and try next season."

Walker reportedly sought talks with Pochettino over his future after being left out of the starting line-up for the FA Cup semifinal.

"It's like many rumours. Kyle, Dele, [Christian] Eriksen, Alli, Lloris, Pochettino - many rumours about many things," the Argentinian said.

"I never speak about rumours. It's important to be honest with the club and try to give our best. After the last game, we can spend the next 24 hours speaking about the future.

"Now, the club and the fans deserve to focus and try to catch Chelsea. If not, then finish second, third or fourth."

Rose will again miss out against Palace but the left-back has returned to training after suffering a knee injury at Sunderland in January and could be in contention for Sunday's north London derby against Arsenal.

"Next Sunday it will be three months since he got injured," Pochettino added. "We will see. Today he started to do some things with the group.

"We will see how he reacts in the next few days. Then we will see. We have been careful with him but we are happy that he is in a good way. We hope he will be available as soon as possible to be selected.

"We need to check him and he needs to recover the feeling of the competition after three months. That is difficult for a player after three months. Its difficult but the door is not closed and we are flexible."

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