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Mauricio Pochettino has lost his leverage.
After Manchester United appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a permanent basis on Thursday, there was excitement among the Tottenham Hotspur faithful.
For so long, Spurs fans have had to deal with report after report linking Pochettino away. A December article in The Telegraph, for one, claimed that United had one target to replace Jose Mourinho. His name wasn’t Solskjaer.
Yet a fine run as interim boss has seen the Norwegian appointed. United remain in contention to finish in the top four and face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals after a miraculous win over PSG in Paris.
Real Madrid, too, have long been listed as potential Pochettino suitors but Zinedine Zidane made a dramatic return earlier this month after a dismal season that has seen both Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari sacked by Los Blancos.
Within 30 days, Pochettino has seen two jobs disappear and with them, he does not have a leg to stand on when he discusses his summer plans with chairman Daniel Levy.
That is not to say that the Argentine was particularly interested in either job, perhaps he always planned to remain in north London and lead Spurs into a bold new era at their glistening new stadium.
Yet it felt as though he could use the interest to his advantage, playing off the uncertainty both in Manchester and Madrid and leverage himself something of a war chest.
Across the past two transfer windows, Spurs, as has been reported regularly, failed to make a single signing. Lucas Moura, the Brazilian right-winger, is the last player to arrive on a permanent deal. This summer, it has appeared, will be different. Doubts persist over the futures of both Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen, while the likes of Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier, Ben Davies and Erik Lamela could all be upgraded.
Yet where is the necessity for Levy to back his man now? Short of merely replacing departures, which one would think goes without saying, though Spurs fans might not be so sure, there is no bogeyman in the closet anymore.
Pochettino has nowhere to go. He is not poised to resign any time soon and perhaps the only elite jobs that might become available are at Chelsea and perhaps Juventus and even those links would be tenuous at best.
There is no reason, then, for Levy to go the extra mile and ensure that a superstar arrives at the new stadium. A reunion with Gareth Bale is surely not on the cards; his wages are extortionate and there is little chance of Spurs countenancing a massive transfer fee for a player over the age of 29.
Many reports have claimed that this summer will instead be focused on recruiting young, British players as they look to meet the homegrown quota. The likes of Jack Grealish of Aston Villa and Jarrod Bowen of Hull City have been mentioned as targets but they will do little to excite Spurs fans.
They are both good players but they do not have much Premier League pedigree, much less the experience of playing in, and changing, Champions League games.
Yet Pochettino no longer has the ability to push Levy into changing his thinking. There is no club to flutter his eyelashes at as he bids to squeeze some extra cash out of his chairman. Instead, he will have to accept that what Levy says goes.
Thursday’s news may prove to be excellent for Spurs fans, as they keep the manager who has transformed them into a genuine Premier League force.
But it may also prove to be ultimately frustrating for the man himself, with Levy unlikely to break the habit of a lifetime and throw cash at a team that is so very close to breaking through the Premier League glass ceiling.