Mauricio Pochettino may freeze Toby Alderweireld out of his Tottenham squad

Toby Alderweireld may have his heart set on a move to Manchester United, but he needs to worry about Mauricio Pochettino instead of Jose Mourinho.

There’s clearly been something wrong with the relationship between Mauricio Pochettino and Toby Alderweireld for months. There was some hope that a summer apart might serve to heal the rift. It seems that things at Tottenham are going to get much worse instead.

Reports from England claim that Alderweireld has his “heart set” on a move to Old Trafford. He’s even prepared to let his contract with Tottenham run down an additional season to help Manchester United acquire him on the cheap. The talented Belgian can be available for a paltry £25 million release clause after this season.

That idea sounds all well and good at first. That is, until you consider the fact that Pochettino is going to be a significant part of this equation. The emotional Argentine can be a father figure to players who buy in to his vision. He can also be a ruthless manager for players he doesn’t believe are 100% committed to his project at Spurs.

If Alderweireld really thinks Pochettino is going to put him in the lineup every week with the knowledge that he’s going to move to United on the cheap next summer, he needs to have his head examined. If Pochettino buys into that theory, he will freeze Alderweireld out of the squad entirely. He may be a Belgian international, but Pochettino will have him training on his own in no time.

This is another example of just how poorly Alderweireld and his representatives have handled these contract negotiations. First, they tried to get Spurs to pay the classy defender higher wages than Harry Kane. Some might call Daniel Levy a miserly chairman, but there isn’t a transfer boss in the Premier League who would pay Alderweireld more than the prolific striker.

Alderweireld’s wage demands have effectively forced every club other than United to drop out of the race to sign him this summer. It’s unclear whether his heart is set on playing for Mourinho out of legitimate desire or necessity. United are the only club that look ready to meet his astronomical wage demands.

Even if Alderweireld can stay involved for Tottenham this season, what are the odds that Mourinho is still employed by United next summer? This is, after all, his third season in charge of the club. History tells us that he doesn’t make it to the fourth season. There are already significant rumblings of conflict between “The Special One” and the higher-ups at the club.

What Alderweireld needs to do is meet with Pochettino to clear the air. That’s the only way he’s going to avoid wasting one of the last prime seasons of his career. If he tries to engage in a power struggle with Pochettino he’s going to lose. Alderweireld has a lot of work to do if he wants to get playing time for Tottenham this season.