Though the sight of constant jousting between Tottenham Hotspur’s media officer and a reporter at Mauricio Pochettino’s recent press conference descended into something resembling comedic tones, there was a serious undercurrent. For all of the eagerness of the media department to move on the discussion, the fact that ‘Poch’ didn’t come straight out and flatly deny he wanted the Manchester United manager’s job as soon as his candidacy was mentioned meant that the floundering officer was left batting away questions like his life depended on it. He didn’t want any questions on the subject, but it was the biggest story at his club, and indeed across the entire Premier League on that day. It’s remained a huge talking point over the Christmas and New Year period, particularly as Tottenham moved into second place after the Boxing Day fixtures, further emphasising just what a super job the Argentinian is doing. Not a single penny spent on summer transfers, not even playing at their own ground… and still the Lilywhites are genuine challengers for Manchester City’s crown. However, there’s one ingredient missing in any discussion about Pochettino’s movements come the end of the 2018/19 campaign; Real Madrid. Los Blancos approached the north Londoners in the wake of Zinedine Zidane’s departure, and all of the noises in the Spanish press were that he was their top target. Daniel Levy played hardball, nothing new there, and Real were forced to look elsewhere, plumping for Julen Lopetegui… and look how that turned out. Since then the link has gone quiet, but importantly hasn’t disappeared, and much depends on how Santiago Solari fares over the next few months. Pochettino’s countryman has had a reasonable start at the Santiago Bernabeu and winning the Club World Cup will have given him some credit with his employers. What can’t be overlooked, however, is the way in which Real were beaten so easily by Eibar and CSKA Moscow. Both were highly unfancied opponents and yet they dispatched Solari’s side without really having to get out of second gear.