'Balance' between Pochettino and Levy will help decide Toby Alderweireld future, says Tottenham boss

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino insists any decision to sell players will be a joint one between him and chairman Daniel Levy amid uncertainty over the future of defender Toby Alderweireld.

Contract talks between Spurs and Alderweireld remain deadlocked with the club refusing to break their wage structure to meet his £150,000 per-week salary demands, as recently reported by The Times. The same report claimed the Belgium international could now be sold at the end of the season.

Alderweireld's current deal expires in 2019 and Spurs can trigger an option to extend that by 12 months. But by doing that, they will activate a buyout clause that permits him to leave the club for £25m in the summer of 2019.

The situation could force Spurs to cash in while they still can, with Manchester United and Barcelona interested in the former Ajax, Atletico Madrid and Southampton defender, according to the Manchester Evening News and The Independent respectively.

Spurs chairman Levy recently explained at a meeting with the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust that no players will be sold behind the manager's back. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday [27 February], Pochettino himself insisted any major decisions over recruitment and sales are taken together, with chief scout Steve Hitchen also involved in the process.

"We share the decisions, between Daniel, us and now Steve," Pochettino said, ESPN report. "Of course the last word is with us [myself and Levy].

"If we disagree it is like when you disagree with your wife or your girlfriend, you fight until one gets the final decision. We started on opposite sides and then we started to build up our personal and professional relationships.

"It is about balance, as a man of football, sometimes between business and football decisions, you need to find the right balance. That is why we need to share every single decision on what happens in the club."

Alderweireld recently returned from over two months on the sidelines but a tweak in the same hamstring has forced him to sit out of training in recent days. The 28-year-old is set to miss Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Rochdale, with Pochettino unsure if he will be fit for next week's Champions League last 16 second leg clash with Juventus.