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Man City have won the Guardiola race - and their Premier League rivals know it
By Sam Lee
Jan 5, 2016 15:30:00
The Catalan looks destined to take over at the Etihad Stadium this summer, and despite a wall of silence there are plenty of clues to suggest City's rivals have given up the chase
It is regarded as the worst kept secret in football, and for good reason. Barring a shock turn of events, Pep Guardiola will manage Manchester City next season, it's just that nobody will make it official yet.
Goal have long reported that City are in the driving seat for Guardiola, that the excellent relationship between their sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, and the Catalan coach has been part of a long-term plan cooked up in Abu Dhabi.
It almost goes without saying by this point that the two men are close friends, and have been since playing alongside each other in the Barcelona first team in the early 1990s. Txiki was the man to hand Guardiola the reins at Camp Nou back in 2008 and they have talked frequently, if not weekly, ever since he left the club in 2012.
When City took on Barca in the 2009 Gamper Trophy many of the English club's decision makers were seduced. Not only by Barcelona's brand of football but by the way the club itself is run from top to bottom. This was a footballing giant that had been hauled off its knees to once again dominate the European game, thanks not only to Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, or even Guardiola, but also a select few businessmen.
Ferran Soriano, the economic vice president, and Txiki, the director of football, were two of those key figures. They, of course, were swept away to the Etihad Stadium as part of a long-term project hatched to establish City as a European giant. Omar Berrada, the former head of sponsorship at Camp Nou, has also been recruited and was influential in City's recent link-up with a Chinese consortium.
It is inevitable that Txiki and Pep will have talked about the City manager's job and the Blues have had more than an inkling that the Catalan will soon be in their dug-out. Even so, there was a surge in confidence as Christmas approached that the hard work has been done. After two and a half successful but often fractious years at Bayern Munich, it was suggested to City's top brass that the Catalan was looking forward to a much calmer working environment.
Publicly, Guardiola confirmed on Tuesday that the Premier League will be his next destination. But that will come as no surprise to any of his former colleagues now employed by the City Football Group. Nor will it shock any of City's rivals.
Neither Pep nor City will make an official announcement before the end of the season. A wall of silence has been erected.
But there are clues which can be used to point anxious supporters in the right direction. Goal reported in December that four top Premier League clubs, as well as an unnamed national team, had made a pitch to Pep. It seems, though, that they were in vain.
At the start of last month, those in the know around Manchester United reported that Ed Woodward considered Louis van Gaal to be a genius and that a move for Guardiola was not on the agenda. It appeared curious at the time but Woodward stood by his man even when Van Gaal came extremely close to losing his job over Christmas. In fact, the man most likely to benefit from the Dutchman's sacking was Jose Mourinho, according to a number of reports from sources close to the club and the former Chelsea boss.
Chelsea themselves are in the market for a new manager to take over from Guus Hiddink in the summer, but they have not been linked with Guardiola to any great length, either. Indeed, Manuel Pellegrini, the man who will depart the Etihad this summer, is one of the leading candidates. Roman Abramovich, as reported by Marca, wants the Chilean to unite the fractured dressing room at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are the final English club to have made a pitch to Guardiola, and tongues were wagging across Europe when Bild revealed that Arsene Wenger himself had contacted his old adversary about continuing his dynasty in north London. But later that very same day Bild insisted Guardiola will become football's highest paid coach when he moves to City.
Those are details, even if they are accurate, that will not be confirmed any time soon. No such information will leak out from Manchester City or the Guardiola camp, certainly.
But for anybody looking closely enough, there are clues. As much as the Blues have put in years of groundwork to try to replicate Barcelona's global dominance, and as much as they clearly covet Pep Guardiola, perhaps the news coming out of their Premier League rivals is more telling. They know they've lost the race.
Sergio Aguero is fit enough to play a third match in eight days when Manchester City visit Everton in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday, according to Manuel Pellegrini.
Argentine striker Aguero is yet to complete 90 minutes since returning from a heel injury that had kept him out for three weeks and he has struggled for form during the festive run of fixtures.
However, with a calf problem likely to see Wilfried Bony join Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri on the sidelines for the trip to Goodison Park, the manager believes Aguero - who scored an 84th-minute winner against Watford on Saturday - is in good enough shape to feature from the start again.
"Bony has a kick in his calf so maybe he's not fit for tomorrow. In a few days more he should be fine to come back," Pellegrini said.
"Sergio played three games in a week which was no problem for this moment. The last injury was not a muscle injury, just a pain in his heel.
"He's fit and the best way for him to recover his best performance is to play games."
Everton have conceded 29 goals in the Premier League so far this season but Pellegrini is not expecting that record to offer his team a simple passage to the final at Wembley Stadium next month.
"We won't change our style. We will play as an offensive team, to create chances and to score the most amount of goals.
"We don't think it will be easy because Everton have conceded goals recently.
"It's important when you're in a competition to try to win it. We've won three games and now we're in the semi-final.
"It's very beautiful to finish at Wembley in front of a lot of people."
Louis van Gaal's style at Manchester United is not what Adidas wanted to see following their historic sponsorship deal, according to chief executive Herbert Hainer.
Adidas and United signed a record-breaking £750 million deal in 2014, meaning the English giants will wear the iconic three stripes for the next ten years.
United manager Van Gaal has come under pressure in recent weeks, with the club enduring their worst run of form in over 25 years.
And Hainer has put even more pressure on the Dutchman, claiming his style of play is not what the sportswear apparel brand wanted to see.
"The business side of things is going very well," Haine told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.
"But the current style of play is not exactly what we wanted to see."
United are fifth in the Premier League table, three points outside of the top-four and nine behind league leaders Arsenal.
An angry Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool players that there is no time to feel sorry for themselves after the team's 2-0 loss to West Ham on Saturday.
Liverpool were abject at Upton Park, but must get over their disappointment quickly ahead of Tuesday's League Cup semi-final first leg at Stoke City.
And, when asked if his patience is wearing thin due to his side's inconsistency during his pre-Stoke media conference on Monday, Klopp replied: "Yes, of course, always. But I build it up again after this so it's not that I lose it forever because that's not allowed.
"We have to change. If we play like this then it is possible for everybody to win against us and that is not allowed.
"I always say the truth to the players. If I'm satisfied in what I'm seeing then I'm not interested in the result. I mean I'm interested in the result but you have to have two views on the game so even when we have won I will say the truth.
"After West Ham I really was not satisfied because it was not enough so we had a talk about this and now we have to take the next chance, which is against Stoke."
However, Klopp went on to partly accept the blame for Saturday's defeat.
"I felt responsible at West Ham," he added.
"That's how I am. I always feel much more responsible for defeats than for victories because I think about what I should have done differently before a game to avoid situations like that around the West Ham goals.
"It is easy for a manager to say 'I cannot score the goals or defend the goals' - that is only part of the truth.
"If it was the whole truth then why are we so well paid? We have to be responsible for the common things."
Roberto Martinez is adamant Everton have "never lost the fans" despite criticism starting to mount over their stuttering league campaign.
The Merseyside club take a break from Premier League action on Wednesday when they meet Manchester City in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.
But another defeat could see the pressure increase on Martinez, with Everton in 11th place in the top flight after a run of one win – an injury-time success at relegation strugglers Newcastle – in their last seven league games.
Asked about the fans at Tuesday's news conference, Martinez said: "We've never lost them.
"The fans see a fully committed team who give everything. We always fight until the end and some of the attacking football this season has been outstanding.
"The performances have been very consistent, but we need the help of our fans.
"We have been in commanding positions at some points and lost leads. We need the help of everyone.
"The fans are showing the great frustration we share. We have to be patient, we can't just become, overnight, a good team and have the experience and know-how to keep leads and win games."
Despite the call for patience, Martinez was eager to talk up his team, adding: "We need to be aware of the special side that we have. The players we have now, for me, are world class."
The Spaniard conceded his squad is too large but insisted Belgium winger Kevin Mirallas would not be sacrificed in the January transfer window.
"What we have seen with Kevin is that he's signed a new contract, had a good pre-season but we have really good attacking options," he said.
"But the way he has been working in the last few weeks, I expect Kevin to have a major, major influence in the second half of the season."
Martinez reported no new injury worries following Sunday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham, although the home side will still be missing several key men.
"We have the same squad available for Wednesday," he said.
"Tom Cleverley came through well, Phil Jagielka is ready to play, but the weekend is a better time.
"For James (McCarthy), every day is important. It won't be too far, probably the end of the month.
"Steven Pienaar is working well and should be available for the weekend."
Coutinho & Lovren to miss Liverpool's crunch clashes with Arsenal & Man United
By Melissa Reddy
Jan 7, 2016 13:46:00
The Brazilian and the defender both picked up hamstring injuries against Stoke, which have ruled them out of a decisive week of big fixtures
Philippe Coutinho will miss Liverpool’s Premier League showdowns with Arsenal and Manchester United with the playmaker facing a three-week spell on the sidelines.
The Brazilian had to be replaced after 18 minutes of the club’s League Cup victory at Stoke after injuring his hamstring and will need just under a month to shake off the problem.
Defender Dejan Lovren also limped off in the first half of that encounter with the same issue and will also sit out Wednesday’s game against Arsenal as well the visit of Louis van Gaal’s men to Anfield four days later.
However, the Croatian is expected to return to action ahead of the trip to Norwich as the extent of his setback is not as serious as Coutinho’s.
Kolo Toure, who suffered from cramp at the end of the first leg of the semi-final at the Britannia, is ruled out of Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Exeter, but will be back in the squad for next week’s testing fixtures.
"Phil is a bit more serious than Dejan, [who is] more serious than Kolo, but none of these players will be available for tomorrow," Jurgen Klopp revealed at Melwood on Thursday.
"It's always with muscle injuries you don't know exactly.
"Kolo was a cramp, that's not a problem, but after three days it's not possible to play the next game. But, for sure, next week should not be a problem.
"With Dejan the situation is I think he will be available after Manchester United.
"And Phil needs maybe one, two weeks longer, so three weeks [out] for Phil.
"But it's muscle injuries so you don't know exactly. It's really rare that it's quicker, sometimes it's longer, so we will see how long it takes."
With 11 players unavailable to Klopp, the manager is set to field a young line-up at Exeter.
“The FA Cup is a great tournament, we know about it, but we have to make the decisions for the Liverpool team, for my team, and so we have to make changes,” he said.
“That’s all I can say because at this moment I don’t know who is available.
“We will train with the team that will play tomorrow and then we will see what happens, but of course we’ll make changes.”
Louis van Gaal has terminated the Belgian's loan at Borussia Dortmund after he played just 160 minutes in the Bundesliga, and he could even feature against Sheffield United
Adnan Januzaj has returned to Manchester United after Borussia Dortmund agreed to terminate his season-long loan with the Bundesliga club.
The 20-year-old only made 12 appearances for Dortmund after joining on a temporary deal at the end of August, racking up just 160 minutes of league action.
As reported by Goal, United were uhappy with Januzaj's lack of playing time and decided to bring him back to Old Trafford as Louis van Gaal looks to refresh his attacking options in January.
On Thursday, the club tweeted: "[Manchester United] confirms Adnan Januzaj will rejoin the squad, after Borussia Dortmund agreed to cancel his loan deal."
As well as bringing the Belgian youngster back to the club, Van Gaal has also made Lazio star Felipe Anderson a priority target - though a £35 million deal has stalled over a bonuses dispute.
Januzaj could even feature against Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Saturday, as long as he is registered to play before 5pm on Friday.
Given that he has not played since December 10, however, it is perhaps more likely that Januzaj will be eased back to full fitness first and could make an appearance for the Under-21s on Monday against Reading.
Hillsborough families announce final Anfield memorial service
6 January 2016
The Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG) has announced that April's Anfield memorial service for the victims of the 1989 stadium disaster will be the last.
A ceremony has been held annually since 96 people lost their lives in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
However, with the coroner at the inquests into the deaths set to start summing up evidence later this month, a decision has been taken to bring an end to the now-traditional event.
"The 96 will never be forgotten," said HFSG chair Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the disaster. "It is likely that the inquests will be concluded before the anniversary, so this final memorial service will provide the families with some closure.
"The HFSG would like to thank everyone for all the support the families have received over the past 27 years and all those people who have attended the service at Anfield each year.
"We would also like to extend our thanks to Liverpool Football Club for their continued support over the past 27 years and for hosting the service each year at Anfield.
"We hope that the public and fans respect the decision of the HFSG and will continue to remember the 96 in their own perhaps more private way."
The final service will be held on April 15 - the 27th anniversary of the disaster.
Liverpool transfer news and rumours: Reds to break bank for Granit Xhaka
Transfers: Latest news, rumours and gossip for Liverpool FC in 2015 - Jurgen Klopp is weighing up making £37m move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder
Liverpool consider move for Granit Xhaka Photo: AFP
By Telegraph Sport
12:30PM GMT 07 Jan 2016
Liverpool could break their transfer record to sign Borussia Monchengladbach and Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka.
According to German newspaper Bild, Liverpool are weighing up a bid for the 23-year-old but would have to break their record fee to secure the deal.
Monchengladbach are said to want £37m for the player but the report adds that that could be a price worth paying for Liverpool who are in need of a creative spark in their midfield.
Xhaka has scored three goals in 15 games for Monchengladbach this campaign.
Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, has issued an SOS to his former club Borussia Dortmund amid a centre-back crisis at Anfield.
The Liverpool manager is in desperate need of a central defender ASAP with Friday's FA Cup third round tie against Exeter approaching fast and Klopp without any fit centre halves at the club.
But Klopp hopes his old club can lend a hand by loaning him Neven Subotic.
Talks have opened and begun over Subotic, who Klopp took to Dortmund from Mainz, but a deal is far from finalised believes the Mirror.
Liverpool defender Tiago Ilori’s 12-month loan has been cancelled by Aston Villa and he could go into the squad for Friday’s trip to Exeter.
The Reds are also hopeful of bringing Schalke defender Joel Matip to the club in January, instead of waiting until the summer to sign him on a free transfer.
Matip is out of contract at the end of the season but the Bundesliga side are desperate for him to sign a new deal.
Andrea Ranocchia could become Klopp's second signing of the window, according to Italian website TuttoMercato.
Ranocchia, the Inter Milan centre-back, is struggling to get regular first-team football at San Siro under Roberto Mancini and the two clubs, according to TuttoMercato, now just need to agree a fee before the move can go through.
With Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Joe Gomez, Jon Flanagan and Lovren all out injured, the Italy international would more than likely stroll into Liverpool's starting XI should Klopp and Mancini agree a fee.
Klopp, meanwhile, is considering adding another Belgian goalkeeper to his squad, according to the Daily Star.
Following under-par performances from Simon Mignolet and his understudy Adam Bogdan, Klopp is now ready to take a punt on Standard Liège's Guillaume Hubert.
Hubert, 21, has already been monitored by Liverpool scouts earlier this season, but the Merseysiders may have to fight off Leicester City who are also keen on the £1 million-rated player.
Allardyce: Football world is talking about Pickford
9 January 2016
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce hailed the debut performance of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford despite seeing his side lose 3-1 to Arsenal.
Jeremain Lens put the visitors ahead at Emirates Stadium but goals from Joel Campbell, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud sent Arsene Wenger's men through to the FA Cup fourth round.
Pickford, recalled from a loan spell with Preston North End, delivered an assured performance in the Sunderland goal and made some fine saves to deny Campbell and Kieran Gibbs in particular, and Allardyce believes the England youth international is beginning to gain the reputation he deserves.
"Jeremain Lens did well, Jordan in goal too - he looks the part," he said."A Sunderland lad, he has a very bright future.
"The fans always take to a local boy, Jordan has been here since he was eight and that is such a rarity now.
"There is a huge amount of talk in the football world about him, there is no way I could have left him at Preston without bringing him back and seeing if he can do it for us."
Sunderland missed a great chance to take a 2-1 lead in the second half as Steven Fletcher hit the crossbar with a header, and Allardyce was happy with his side's display until they allowed their concentration levels to slip in the closing 20 minutes.
"At 70 minutes we didn't know which way the game was going to go, it was very tight and there were chances at both ends," he said.
"We couldn't continue our progress, we did well for 70 minutes, but as we know a game is 90 minutes.
"However, we move on as there are lots of positives to take from the game. The squad have shown that they can play at this level, maybe not quite as good as they should have today, but the players have shown that they can step in and do the job.
"In the end we gave Arsenal too much space and opened ourselves up, they took advantage of that and ultimately that won them the game."
Mohamed Elneny is set to complete his move to Arsenal but he could be the club's only January arrival, according to manager Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal are poised to sign Elneny after Basel came out during the week and confirmed the Egyptian midfielder was close to departing the club.
However, the 23-year-old is likely to be Arsenal's sole piece of business in the transfer market after Wenger hinted as much following Saturday's 3-1 win over Sunderland in the FA Cup.
"I believe that the next step is to get [Tomas] Rosicky back, [Danny] Welbeck back, [Alexis] Sanchez back, [Jack] Wilshere back and maybe we will get one player in [Elneny]," Wenger said.
"Overall, I think we have no new injuries so I'm not worried. If we had the same number of injuries we would be a bit short."
Costa a doubt for West Brom as Hiddink takes cautious approach with Hazard
10 January 2016
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is a doubt to face West Brom while Eden Hazard is likely to miss that game and the meeting with Everton, Guus Hiddink has said.
Costa netted in Chelsea's 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Scunthorpe United on Sunday before limping off in the final minutes, with Hiddink later confirming he is "doubtful" for Wednesday's game with West Brom.
Hazard picked up a groin injury in Chelsea's 3-0 win at Crystal Palace last week and was expected to be back for Everton's visit to Stamford Bridge next Saturday.
But Hiddink stated they are likely to be more patient with the Belgium international.
Hiddink said: "We want to be cautious with Eden. We don't want him to fall again with muscle problems.
"I want to be careful with him so that he doesn't start too early. It will maybe be a week later [than necessary] rather than too early."
Oscar also picked up a toe injury in the victory against League One Scunthorpe as Chelsea produced a performance that Hiddink was not fully satisfied with.
"There were some vulnerabilities in the second half, it's true. So in that way we have to improve," Hiddink added.
"We scored a beautiful goal and then we got a bit sloppy finishing it off.
"They were still in the game and there was a big threat from free-kicks and corners. As long as it was 1-0 the threat was actual for us.
"This was an important game for us. We are very determined to go on and get silverware at the end and that's why you have to play these difficult games."
Ligue 1 outfit Monaco have confirmed they will not be recalling Radamel Falcao from his loan at Chelsea, despite reports suggesting otherwise.
Falcao has spent the past two seasons on loan in the Premier League - first with Manchester United in 2014-15 and now with Chelsea.
The Colombian striker has made just nine league appearances with the reigning champions and has been out of action since the end of October due to injury.
However, with Falcao set for up to another two months on the sidelines, Monaco stated they have no intentions of bringing him back for the rest of the season.
"Falcao is currently injured. He has to wait for six to seven more weeks. Due to it, we took the decision of not taking him back in Monaco," said club vice-president Vadim Vasilyev.
Monaco are third in the Ligue 1 table, 21 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
The interim Chelsea manager maintains the striker is still under contract with Montreal Impact and the club must respect his commitment
Guus Hiddink has dismissed rumours that Didier Drogba is set to join Chelsea as the Dutchman's assistant manager.
Reports have linked the Ivorian attacker to a return to Stamford Bridge, with the 37-year-old said to be close to retirement.
The 37-year-old sat alongside Hiddink in Roman Abramovich’s box for Chelsea’s first match following Jose Mourinho’s dismissal.
Drogba's insistence that he has not yet made a decision on his future has done little to quell speculation, but Hiddink has moved to shrug off the reports, insisting that he still has a commitment to MLS side Montreal Impact.
"Drogba is under contract with Montreal Impact - we have to respect that," Hiddink told reporters.
"It is up to the clubs. We have to respect this contract."
The former Blues attacker is tied to the Canadian club until December 2016 and scored 11 goals in as many games for Impact in the league last term, netting a further one across three Playoff matches.
Drogba spent nine years with Chelsea across two spells, winning four Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.
Grujic: Liverpool wanted me to solve injury crisis
10 January 2016
New Liverpool signing Marko Grujic claims boss Jurgen Klopp was keen to have him at Anfield straight away due to the club's current injury woes.
Grujic became Klopp's first Liverpool signing this week but the highly rated 19-year-old midfielder has returned to Red Star Belgrade on loan for the rest of this season
Speaking to Red Star TV, Grujic thanked his new employers for their understanding in letting him return to the club in pursuit of the Serbian title.
"Klopp wanted me to join Liverpool immediately because they have injury problems, but I didn't want to leave Red Star before we win the title," he said.
"I guess they understand me, they put themselves in my position, and after the title with my beloved club, I will be full of confidence to have success in Liverpool.
"Klopp also told me to stay focused in the next six months, to watch out what I eat and not to rest more than two to three weeks after the season. Then we have the pre-season tour in America."
Liverpool currently have 11 first-team squad members out of action, including midfielders Jordon Ibe, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson.
Wenger wants Premier League prioritised in English fixture scramble
12 January 2016
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants Premier League matches to take priority to ease English football's frantic winter schedule.
At present, league fixtures are only slotted into the calendar after national team games, European matches and each round of the domestic cup competitions.
This month's schedule sees a full round of midweek Premier League games taking place between rounds three and four of the FA Cup and the two-legged League Cup semi-finals.
The congestion has prompted criticism from Sunderland's Sam Allardyce – a long-established top-flight manager in the country – and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, during the German's first experience of an English winter.
But before examining the possibility of cutting matches or introducing a mid-season break, Wenger – enjoying his 19th season at Arsenal – wants the current arrangements to be tweaked.
"Before you shrink the calendar, you can make it less chaotic by saying maybe that priority is to the Premier League on fixtures," he said.
"When you start to cancel Premier League game as you have a replay of the FA Cup, why not play the replay on a different date in midweek and keep the Premier League?
"As sometimes you finish the season and this team has two games less as they played in a replay of the cup and you have a lot of problems to reschedule the games.
"If you at least fix and keep the Premier League games and don't change them, and adapt the FA Cup to the dates in midweek, that would be a step forward."
Wenger, whose team take on Klopp and Liverpool on Wednesday, does not believe the lack of a mid-season break in England necessarily hinders the Premier League's top teams in their pursuit of success in Europe.
"If you look at the history of English football, it was already a frenetic football," he added. "But it did not stop the English clubs from winning European Cups in the past.
"When I spoke to [former Arsenal player] Pat Rice, who used to be my assistant, about it, at one time they played every day. He once played in a replay in the FA Cup four times!"
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that striker Divock Origi has undergone surgery on a knee injury.
The Belgium international has scored four goals in all competitions for the Reds this season but has not played since December 26, when he suffered a hamstring injury against Leicester City.
Klopp revealed Liverpool opted to use his recovery time to clear up another problem the 20-year-old had, with his first-team return still targeted for February.
"It was not really surgery, it was a clean-up of his knee," said the former Borussia Dortmund boss.
"It was a little thing to do and we thought it was a good moment to do it – not the best of course, but because of his other injury we took the time.
"Now he is back [at Melwood] and everything is okay. He is on time and hopefully we can use him in a few weeks."
Klopp is encouraged to see Liverpool's injury crisis starting to ease ahead of Wednesday's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal.
He added: "The rest are looking better, fitness-wise. All of the other guys trained.
"Divock could not train, but we had Mama [Mamadou Sakho] in training and he looked good. We had Millie [James Milner] in training and he looked good. Hendo [Jordan Henderson] in training, very good.
"Our options are now more than they were a few days ago. Hopefully we can build a good squad [for the Arsenal game]."
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino was delighted to see star striker Harry Kane express his loyalty to the club.
The England international, 22, has followed up his 31-goal haul of last season with 14 strikes so far in 2015-16, prompting speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United or Real Madrid.
But Kane reiterated on Monday that he saw his long-term future at Tottenham, which thrilled Pochettino.
"Harry wanting to stay is very important - he feels very good here and is very happy," said the former Southampton boss.
"In football anything can happen, but Harry is very happy with us. We are really happy and very pleased he is with us.
"There have been a lot of rumours about us from the beginning of the season. Our supporters need to understand we are in a project that is different from other clubs."
Spurs continue to be linked with signing a second striker who can ease the workload on Kane, but Pochettino does not think that is a necessity and will only buy an ideally suited frontman.
He added: "It is maybe true that Harry Kane is a proper striker, but it is not only him - we have different players in the second line who can help him and also play in his position.
"The most important thing is to add the right profile and right player. Trying to find this player is not easy.
"The market is very difficult in winter and our power is in the changing room, in the squad, the team. It is not about one name, one player more or less.
"It is important to find the right player who can help us. That player will come, but if he doesn't it's not a big worry for me.
"I can understand people are concerned we need one striker more, but we are very confident in following the same direction as the first half of the season."
Vardy back in training ahead of Leicester´s trip to Tottenham
12 January 2016
Leicester City could have Jamie Vardy back for Wednesday's trip to Tottenham after the England striker returned to training.
Vardy, the Premier League's joint top-scorer with 15 goals this season, missed Sunday's FA Cup clash at White Hart Lane after undergoing a minor groin operation but trained with the rest of the squad on Tuesday.
Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri indicated on Monday that Vardy could be involved against Spurs but may have to settle for a place on the bench.
He said: "Without the [groin] problem he is much better.
"He had the problem for about a month and a half and continued to play. Now without the problem he is much better.
"I will see his fitness to see if he starts from the beginning or if he comes with me on the bench."
Pellegrini sees no need for Guardiola apology over City links
12 January 2016
Manuel Pellegrini does not believe Pep Guardiola has any reason to say sorry for being linked with his job at Manchester City.
Speculation has increased that Guardiola will succeed Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium next term after his announcement last month that he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of his contract in June.
The former Barcelona boss subsequently said his ambition to work in the Premier League lay behind his decision to leave the Bundesliga champions and this week Guardiola apologised to top-flight bosses in England, having also been mentioned in connection with Manchester United and Chelsea.
Pellegrini, who was dismissed in 2010 by Real Madrid after finishing as runners-up in La Liga to Guardiola's Barca despite claiming a then club-record tally of 96 points, is unconcerned over his future and focused on securing major honours for City this season.
He told a media conference ahead of Wednesday's Premier League match against Everton: "No, I'm not worried about that. I don't think that apology is for me. I don't have anything to say about that.
"It's the same thing that I said three, four weeks ago – I am not worried about the future.
"I repeat that my duty is to try and make the best work here at Manchester City. My target is to try and win the Premier League this year, be involved in every competition until the end and try to win a competition more.
"If I finish the year with those achievements I will be very happy and in that moment I just will start thinking about the future."
Irrespective of whether the January transfer window is Pellegrini's final one backed by City's considerable financial might, he does not expect there to be any significant business as he team battles for honours on four fronts.
The 62-year-old rejected reports that striker Wilfried Bony could return to Swansea City after a year in Manchester and added that the development of teenage striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored his fifth goal of the season during Saturday's 3-0 FA Cup win at Norwich City, meant he had no need to seek forward reinforcements.
"As you say, it is speculation – nothing more," he added, with regards to Bony. "I don't talk about rumours.
"I think that our squad is complete. Nobody will come and nobody will go out.
"I repeat we have options [to change this position] until the last day [of the transfer window] but for now, no news.
"The answer also for the questions you asked before about whether we are going to bring in another striker – the other striker is Kelechi."
