Pochettino Verbally Agrees to New Contract with Tottenham
Mauricio Pochettino is just one step closer to remaining as manager for Tottenham Hotspur, now that he has verbally agreed to a five-year contract extension.
According to The Telegraph, Mauricio Pochettino will be signing a five-year contract extension that’s worth £5.5 million ($8 million) per year within the next few days, after verbally agreeing to remain with Tottenham until 2021.
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With Pochettino now set to stay at White Hart Lane, not only will this prevent other clubs from trying to poach the Argentine manager away from Spurs, but it also shifts the focus away from the loss of Dele Alli to a suspension and back onto the Club.
As in, looking ahead to the next five years with Mauricio Pochettino continuing his current project of turning Spurs into a big European club.
With a deal set in place this is what Pochettino said after he recently spoke of one day managing Paris Saint-Germain because it would be a dream job for him:
“I can say now, to stop the speculation, that we reached a verbal agreement with the club to extend two years more my contract here until 2021.”
“We don’t sign yet, but we reached the verbal agreement to stay here for the next five years.”
“We started to speak a few months ago and today is a good day to communicate that we reached the verbal agreement.”
The first signs of Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham getting together to work out a contract extension happened this past January when he was being linked to Chelsea but dismissed of an exit.
It’s entirely possible that links to other managerial jobs in the Premier League caused Daniel Levy to jump-start contract extension talks which took some time to agree on (verbally or not), but it seems that Pochettino is here to stay now.
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“I am very happy. I think that for many reasons I wanted to stay. Tottenham have unbelievable potential,” Mauricio Pochettino continued.
“We have created a great group of players, we have a very strong squad, young with the potential to be top. The staff, the supporters are unbelievable. The potential is massive. Why not stay here?”
“It was an easy decision (to agree the contract). When you are happy and feel the love of the people and the potential of the club is massive, why change, why not stay here?”
“We have created a very good atmosphere in the changing room and the training ground with all the staff. We have an excellent relationship and I think we can achieve big things in the future.”
“I believe in the club, our players, our staff and supporters, and for that I say yes to stay here and extend the contract because I believe in this project and club and the energy and history. I want to stay here for that.”
With regards to Dele Alli’s suspension for the remainder of the season, the 20-year-old will still train with the team which isn’t surprising. But what’s more important is what Pochettino said, now that Alli will be banned for the final three fixtures. And what it could mean for his playing style moving forward.
Next: Tottenham's Dele Alli Banned for Final Three Matches
“The player can make a mistake like all,” Pochettino added. “It was an action that nobody feels proud of that, but it is only a mistake, one mistake, a small mistake. He has paid for that and should learn from that.”
“There are many reasons why something like this happens on the pitch, but I have nothing to say. He has a very strong character and personality, and for that he is one of the best players in England and we cannot change him.”
It’s encouraging to know that Mauricio Pochettino won’t force Dele Alli to change, but he has already let it be known that Alli should learn from his mistake. How the England international responds to players provoking him during the European Championship this summer will show if he has indeed learned or not.