Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy: Mauricio Pochettino is not going anywhere, he loves us

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy offered a relaxed assessment of manager Mauricio Pochettino's future, insisting the Spurs boss is not going anywhere.

Pochettino has earned admiring glances from several top sides after his impressive achievements at White Hart Lane over the past three seasons, which culminated in Spurs securing their best finish of the Premier League era as they finished second behind Chelsea.

The Argentine had been particularly linked with the vacant post at Barcelona, widely reported to be destined for Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde, but the likes of Real Madrid and Paris St Germain have also been linked with Pochettino.

However Levy, who handed Pochettino a new deal last May that will run until 2021, is convinced that his manager’s long-term future is in North London.

“Mauricio is sitting right in front of us here,” Levy told a press conference in Hong Kong. “I’m sure he’s not going anywhere. He loves us.”

Pochettino was sat in the front row of a press conference in which Spurs announced the extension of their official partnership with insurance giants AIA until 2022.

The announcement was part of Tottenham’s post-season tour of Hong Kong, which reaches its conclusion on Friday with a friendly against local champions Kitchee SC in the National Stadium.

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The extension of their partnership will see Spurs return to Asia on further occasions whilst coaches will also be permanently placed in Hong Kong to “lead on AIA's football and healthy living programmes in its 18 Asian markets”, according to a club statement.

Levy added: “This new long-term agreement demonstrates the strength of our relationship with AIA and underlines just how much we both value this partnership. The renewed partnership comes at a significant time in the club's history with a new world-class stadium currently under construction.

“We shall be proud to wear the AIA name on our shirts when we walk out on to that pitch for the first time. We look forward to continuing to work closely with AIA in the coming years as we look to further support the objectives of both organisations in the Asia-Pacific region.”