Follow our live blog of West Ham vs Tottenham on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app on Saturday; Kick-off at 12. 30 PM
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 19 / 11 / 19 4: (PM)
Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino have a ‘strained’ relationship, according to a club source
Mauricio Pochettino could face a long, drawn-out divorce from Tottenham as the pressure to arrest his team’s dramatic decline intensifies.
Tottenham sit 14 th in the Premier League and head for West Ham on Saturday without an away win since January.
If Pochettino’s days at Tottenham’s iconic new stadium are numbered, the stage is set for a Mexican stand-off, with chairman Daniel Levy and the manager waiting for the other to blink first.
Harry Kane during Tottenham’s defeat at Brighton earlier this season
stalemate remains in N 17
Less than six months ago, Levy was fighting to keep his manager from the clutches of Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Now, with relations described by one club source as “strained”, Levy has to balance the need for change with the prospect of paying out a reported £ 12. 5m in compensation to sack a manager who has more than three years left on his current deal.
With a number of top clubs across Europe considering a managerial change, Levy knows that an approach for Pochettino could come soon.
2: 56FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, those looking to land the Argentine know that a shrewd waiting game could save them millions.
Pochettino, meanwhile, looks unlikely to walk away from the money due – and so a stalemate remains in N 17
One option for Levy would be to put the 47 – year-old on gardening leave – as he did previously with Tottenham’s chief talent spotter Paul Mitchell, prior to his move to RB Leipzig.
0: 49Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp talks about the reasons why his old club are struggling
Levy could then bring in a new manager to breathe life into a campaign already in dire straits after just 12 games and still have the prospect of a club needing to pay compensation for Pochettino’s services.
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These scenarios are a lifetime away from June 1, just 123 days ago, when Pochettino proudly lined up his side to face Liverpool in the Champions League final.
The manager revealed his frustrations with the transfer business done in the summer and held clear-the-air talks with Levy earlier in the season as a poor start turned into a dire one.
The club have struggled since reaching the Champions League final last season
For now, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks likely to be given until January at least before Ed Woodward considers a change of course.
Having previous ly been seen as a shoo-in for the United job, Pochettino would – by then – be considered as a possible choice rather than the definite candidate he was a few short months ago.
Follow our live blog of West Ham vs Tottenham on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app on Saturday; Kick-off at 12. 30 PM
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