Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola urges Mauricio Pochettino to keep his cool over Dele Alli rumours

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Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli has been touted for a move to Manchester City this week.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has told Sky Sports that he isn’t interested in signing Dele Alli – and urged Mauricio Pochettino to ‘stay calm’ over the rumours.

Alli, 21, has enjoyed another superb Premier League campaign, notching 16 goals and five assists for Tottenham whilst winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award for a second year in a row.

Alli, a January 2015 signing from MK Dons, only signed a new six-year contract until 2022 back in September 2016, but that hasn’t stopped speculation over his future.

Earlier this week, The Sun carried quotes from former Barcelona hero Xavi, claiming that Manchester City – managed by his former Barca boss Pep Guardiola – would be interested in signing Alli this summer.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli celebrates scoring

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino responded strongly, telling The Telegraph that Xavi ‘hated’ him and was a cheat in his playing days, all said with a smile on his face as he joked about the Spaniard having gone up against him as Espanyol boss.

Since then, Xavi has told Sport back in his native Spain that he never spoke to The Sun about Alli, suggesting that the quotes were fabricated all along.

Now, Manchester City boss Guardiola has had his say on this frankly bizarre situation, telling Sky Sports that Pochettino must stay calm in the face of rumours about one of his key players.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

Guardiola went on to praise Alli, but claims that City aren’t interested in signing him, despite the England international being one of the most fantastic players he has ever seen.

“Mauricio Pochettino has to stay calm,” said Guardiola. “Dele Alli is going to be his player next season, I am pretty sure of that. We don’t want Dele Alli. He is a fantastic player. He is such good news for English football.”

“He is a fighter, attacking the box he is one of the most fantastic players I’ve seen in my life. But Manchester City doesn’t want Dele Alli,” he added.