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Cape Town - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly assured players he will not think about their contracts when picking the team.
Despite spending money for the first time in two seasons this summer on players such as Tanguy Ndombele, Spurs have several players with limited time left on their deals and they have been linked with moves away over the summer.
Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld, and Jan Vertonghen are all entering the final year of their current contracts, while Danny Rose has just two years remaining and was told he could leave the club during the summer.
Alderweireld and Rose both played 90 minutes in their 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, though Eriksen and Vertonghen were left out of the starting XI, with the latter not even named in the matchday squad.
Ahead of their trip to Manchester City on Saturday however, Pochettino's judgement will not be clouded by contract talks and he will pick his teams according to form and tactics.
Eriksen is the biggest doubt in terms of having a long-term future in north London at the moment. The former Ajax starlet was quoted in the summer as saying he may fancy a new challenge following their Champions League final loss to Liverpool.
Eriksen was signed by Andre Villas-Boas in 2013 and has made 277 appearances for them, scoring 66 goals. Real Madrid have been linked with a move for him and it is still possible with the European transfer window open until the start of next month.
Alderweireld has been linked with a switch to Roma over the summer and reportedly has a low-cost release clause in his current deal which could see him depart for as little as £25 million.
Vertonghen could also leave for a cut-price deal due to his current contract but the Belgian defender said during the summer that he expects to stay put at Spurs for the time being, despite being left out entirely versus Villa.
Rose was left out of Tottenham’s squad for their pre-season tour of China in order for him to pursue a move away. PSG were linked but no concrete bid came in, though Spurs did turn down a deadline day move from Watford.
