Tottenham manager rubbishes star player's desire to leave club

Hugo Lloris is leaving Tottenham Hotspur this summer in order to fulfill a dream to play Champions League football, according to conventional wisdom. That same wisdom also says that he will be a big-money target for Manchester United, who is expected to lose their keeper David De Gea to Real Madrid when the transfer window opens. However, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has poured cold water over these rumors, saying the French international keeper isn't going anywhere, and is quite happy at Tottenham.

"There have been a lot of rumours, but Hugo wants to stay with us and we are happy with him too.

He is happy and everything else is just rumour."

Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino are, I'm sure, quite determined to keep their star keeper around. Lloris was in phenomenal form this year and is quite justifiably on the short list of several clubs who are looking to upgrade their goalkeepers this summer. However, as good as Spurs fans should feel after reading these rumors, this doesn't at all mean that Hugo Lloris won't be sold.

The first rule of transfer negotiations is: Don't give away your bargaining position. Spurs have a keeper that could command upwards of £30m, an insane number for a keeper. However, the moment you acknowledge that your keeper is unsettled and looking to make a move, you strengthen the hand of whoever might want to bid for him. If Levy wants to maximize profit on the sale of Lloris, the first thing to do is try and convince everyone who will listen that Hugo is happy and doesn't want to move.

This is a very cynical point of view, I acknowledge. And nobody wants Hugo to stay at Tottenham for another year more than I do. It's also equally possible that Hugo is happy at Spurs and that Tottenham has no intention of selling one of their best players again, especially to a league rival. However, it's important to acknowledge that there is a strong possibility that a big club is going to come in for Hugo this summer, whatever Pochettino says to the media. If that's the case, then it behooves Spurs, if the offer is big enough and if the player really wants to go, to maximize the profit for the club. Because what's worse: to lose the player, or to lose the player AND get shafted in the deal?