Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino urged to reject Chelsea and Manchester United interest

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino would be mad to cave in to the overtures of Chelsea or Manchester United and leave White Hart Lane, according to former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp. The Argentine boss has guided the north London club to second in the Premier League where they remain in the hunt for a first title for 55 years.

In addition, the club have a nine-point cushion over fifth-place West Ham United in pursuit of a Champions League place, in what would represent a fine achievement from Pochettino's side even if they miss out on the title. The former Southampton boss has been widely praised for basing his selection on young players with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier having been key to the success.

Pochettino's success and his refusal to contemplate signing a new contract until the end of the season has seen him linked with a move to Chelsea and United. The Blues will appoint a successor for Jose Mourinho in the summer while the future of Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford is uncertain with the club set to miss out on the riches of the top four.

But Redknapp, who managed Tottenham to two fourth-place finishes in three full seasons – currently their highest position achieved in Premier League history – has questioned why Pochettino would be interested in such a move away despite the illustriousness of the clubs reportedly interested in his services.

"There has been a lot of speculation over Mauricio Pochettino's future but why would he want to leave Tottenham? He's doing an excellent job and will want to see it through," he told The Evening Standard. "Spurs are a big club with great facilities and will soon be moving into a new stadium.

"Why go to Chelsea or Manchester United, where he'd be faced with a massive rebuilding exercise, when he's making such great progress where he is? Spurs have an excellent squad and Mauricio's a smashing fella. They want to give him a new deal and Tottenham need stability after a high turnover of managers in recent years."

Regardless of whether Tottenham do capture their first league title since 1961 or not, the upcoming summer transfer window will give Pochettino the opportunity to improve his squad at the end of the campaign. Harry Kane remains the club's only central striker and Redknapp expects that area of the squad to be looked at.

"Mauricio will want money to spend, but they don't need many more players," he added. "Spurs are probably after another striker as cover for Harry Kane and maybe would like one more attacking player, but they aren't really short of anything.

"It's easy to go and buy a load of average players — United have done that. Spurs just need to do some fine-tuning in the summer. Keeping the manager is the most important thing — and Mauricio should be there for years to come."