Tottenham round-up: Mauricio Pochettino distances himself from Barcelona links; Erik Lamela ‘going nowhere’; Harry Kane and Danny Rose latest

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For all the progress Tottenham Hotspur have made since Mauricio Pochettino arrived at the helm, it was a given that he would eventually be linked to a move elsewhere, and after Barcelona boss Luis Enrique revealed that he would be stepping down as manager at the end of the season earlier in March, the Argentine was linked to a potential move to the Nou Camp, as reported by The Guardian. 

Further fuel was added to the fire during the recent international break, when Pochettino was reportedly seen in a bar in Barcelona with Blaugrana president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, but speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the Spurs boss dismissed rumours linking him with the soon to be vacant hot-seat of the La Liga giants, insisting that running into Bartomeu was a chance encounter, as well as drawing attention to his allegiance to Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol, for whom he played and managed. Comparing such a move to the prospect of leaving Tottenham for Arsenal, Pochettino labelled the idea as “impossible”.

As quoted by Sky Sports, Pochettino said: “It was a coincidence in a bar in Barcelona last Tuesday because I’ve known Bartomeu for a long time, since before he became chairman of Barcelona and, you know, many people around us saw us and said hello.”

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“We spent five minutes together but that was the reality and, you know, the rumours after are impossible to stop.

“But I am an Espanyol supporter and I think I don’t need to say too much. It’s like if one day Daniel Levy sacked me after a few years, for me it would be impossible to manage Arsenal.

“I think in football, sometimes, I know that it is so difficult to keep values and to be loyal with your heart and your emotions but, for me, before being a manager, before being a player, being loyal is more important to be honest and I am an Espanyol fan. I love Espanyol and like now Tottenham for me, it would be impossible one day to move to Arsenal. It would be impossible.”

Another figure who seemingly won’t be going anywhere is Erik Lamela, despite a report in the Daily Express suggesting the Argentine winger may have played his last game for the club, after hip surgery ruled him out for the remainder of the season, with a potential move back to Serie A thought to be in the pipeline.

The 25-year-old hasn’t featured for Spurs since the EFL Cup defeat to Liverpool in October, and has since spent time in Rome working on his recovery with his former club Roma, as well as returning to Argentina briefly in December for family reasons. His continual absence had given rise to speculation that Lamela was unsettled in England and looking to engineer a move away, but Pochettino laughed off any talk of a move away for the winger when asked about the matter.

“That is so difficult for me to understand. It is so strange to hear him (Lamela) linked to different clubs”, he said, as quoted in the London Evening Standard.

“He has not played since October and after all he has suffered in the last four-to-five months, do you think he is considering a move away from here? He is very happy here. He had a problem, he was desperate to try to find a solution and so was the club. It made me laugh every time I heard the rumours about him leaving as it is impossible for him to think about moving now.

“Where would he go? Now, he needs help. Who could help him more than we could over the next few months? It doesn’t make sense that he would leave”.

Having clarified the minimal likelihood of a departure for either of the clubs Argentinians, Pochettino also provided injury updates on striker Harry Kane and left-back Danny Rose, who are both enduring a spell on the sidelines.

Pochettino was unable to put a definite time-frame on the return of either player, but informed those present at the press conference that he was progressing well.

“We don’t know (when Kane will return) yet. He is doing well, he started to work on the pitch a few days ago,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.

“We are very positive, he is very positive but we’ll see when he’s available again. I cannot provide the time that he still needs. It’s not too long.

“As for Rose, he will see the specialist and then we will see. He is a little bit further behind Harry Kane but we are positive, too.”

Kane will almost certainly be out of contention for this weekend’s trip to Burnley in the Premier League, but the news will come as a welcome boost with the North London Derby against Arsenal and the club’s FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea to come in April. Pochettino and the club’s supporters will now be willing the players to recover as quickly as possible for the upcoming matches.

Vincent Janssen is fit for the trip to Turf Moor after recovering from an illness he picked up during the international break before the Netherlands’ defeat in Bulgaria, whilst Son Heung-Min is also in contention after returning from international duty with South Korea.

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved by Matt Donovan.