Mauricio Pochettino has shied away from speaking about Manchester United and Chelsea target Toby Alderweireld’s future at Tottenham Hotspur.
Talks over a new contract between the defender’s representatives and Tottenham have broken down and the club are no longer trying to initiate further conversations.
Tottenham are warming up to the idea of selling the Belgian in the summer transfer and with clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain keen, they are hopeful of earning a large transfer fee from his sale.
Pochettino has quietly gone about his business of sidelining Alderweireld from his squad and has kept the centre-back out of all the big games since his return from a serious injury.
However, the Tottenham manager was evasive when questioned about the defender’s future at the club and stressed the importance of focusing on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester United.
relatedNewsStory
Pochettino said in a press conference when asked about Alderweireld: “Look I’m not going to speak [about all the] rumours.
“There are a lot of rumours in recent months, not only about him but many other people, players.
"I think we need to be focused on the competition and Saturday and the FA Cup.
“I understand how the rumours appear and that business is, but we are focused on trying to prepare for the game and be competitive on Saturday and try to win the game that is in the end the most important thing.”
While Pochettino did not make it apparent, Alderweireld is rated as unlikely to start when Tottenham take to the pitch at Wembley to take on Manchester United on Saturday.
