Mauricio Pochettino really does not want to be asked any more questions about Toby Alderweireld’s Tottenham future.
Alderweireld made his first Premier League start of the season in the 3-1 victory over Fulham at the weekend, having been ostracised from the first team last season.
The centre-half made just 13 Premier League starts as speculation continued to intensify over his future, with contract negotiations coming to a head.
A move to Manchester United seemed inevitable but failed to materialise before the Premier League’s transfer deadline earlier this month.
But Pochettino appeared to offer an olive branch by playing the Belgian for the full 90 minutes against Fulham, where Tottenham maintained their perfect start.
The Tottenham manager was clearly frustrated to be asked about the player’s future however, embarking on a lengthy rant after one journalist wondered whether Alderweireld was part of his plans for the season.
“Look, this season I am not going to talk….look, many things happened and are going to happen and happened in the past,” he said.
“I am not going to talk, because that is a private matter. Only I am going to talk about what you saw on the pitch, about the performance, about decisions. It’s obviously that like I explained in the press conference. I’m not going to talk about it.
“I told you the players that have the possibility to stay here, I do not talk about him, I talk in general always
“I want player commitment with the team. Players that are not happy, from my point of view, everyone can leave. Then it’s different if they can negotiate with Daniel [Levy] and be agreed.
“But for me I want players who are fully committed with the team and want to fight for the team. The players that are here are all committed. Not one told me today that they wanted to find a solution. That is why I’m not going to make any comment about that situation because you know it’s so…everyone can have their opinion and it’s a lot of parts in different situations that can give or provide different information.
“When I started playing football it was because I loved the emotions that translated with the ball. When I started my career as a manager it was to provide the players with the tools to play and enjoy football on the pitch. But sometimes it is so tough, but that is part of my job too, I understand.”