Guardiola reacts to rumours linking Pochettino with Real Madrid, offers verdict on Daniel Levy

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Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League tonight.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has told The Independent that he isn’t surprised by rumours linking Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino with a move to Real Madrid.

City travel to a beaten-up Wembley Stadium to take on Tottenham tonight, just a matter of hours after the Philadelphia Eagles faced the Jacksonville Jaguars on that same Wembley pitch in London’s latest NFL clash.

Guardiola’s side will be looking to claim another win over Spurs having done the double over them last season, including a 3-1 victory at Wembley back in April.

Tottenham have been enduring a strange season so far, as whilst they have been impressing domestically, their European exploits have been something of a concern for boss Pochettino.

Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at PSV Eindhoven means that Spurs are facing a monumental task in attempting to get out of their Champions League group, having also lost to Inter Milan and Barcelona.

And yet, Pochettino remains one of the most impressive coaches in Europe, and continues to be linked with the Real Madrid job, with Julen Lopetegui fighting for his future after a torrid start to life as Real boss.

Now, City boss Guardiola has told The Independent that he thinks Pochettino is already a top coach and it’s little surprise to see him linked with Real, but added that he thinks Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is ‘not an easy guy’ when it comes to negotiations, meaning Real may struggle to land him even if they did want him.

“I think he is already a top coach, not next,” said Guardiola. “For many years, he is training at a high level. He did an incredible job at Espanyol and Southampton and especially here at Tottenham.”

“I have a lot of respect of the job he has done in his career so he is already a reality as a manager, no doubt. He has been linked many times, with Real Madrid. He can answer that question but I don’t know what happens. What I think is Mr Levy is not an easy guy to negotiate with,” he added.