Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino upbeat over contract talks

By Matthew Treadwell

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes striker Harry Kane is close to being able to play a full 90 minutes after recovering from injury

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino insists he is unconcerned by the current contract situations regarding Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris.

Kane and Spurs have held initial discussions about a new deal for the England striker, Sky sources understand, although the two parties are understood to be some way apart with regard to wages.

Tottenham captain Lloris is also believed to be keen to secure an improved deal with the club but Pochettino is in relaxed mood.

Image: Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris are happy at the club

"For us, our players Harry and Hugo are very important. They have a current contract, five years and three, and they are very happy to be here, and we are very happy too," he told a news conference ahead of the London derby clash with West Ham on Saturday.

"That's the most important thing. There is some rumours that can affect our fans but they should not be worried about things like this because the players want to be in the long-term.

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"I think they are talking maybe about improving and extending the contract and I think in the future it won't be a problem to do. I am very happy.

"Always you want to keep your best players and pay what they deserve but I think the club is doing a great job, and the players too. I think we cannot be worried about things like this because they are happy and want to be at Tottenham."

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Pochettino revealed three key players will definitely miss the game at White Hart Lane, while another - Dele Alli - will be assessed by the medical team on Friday.

"I can confirm Toby Alderweireld, Erik Lamela, Ben Davies are all out and we have a doubt with Dele Alli," he added.

"We need to assess tomorrow. Everyone else is available for selection.

"From the beginning we believed it would be a very short process with Toby [who has a knee injury], but then it was very slow. Today he is near to joining the group, which is good news. Maybe he will be one week 10 days more.

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"Ben Davies is a little bit longer, but not sure of the process to be back.

"We are very happy that Dele showed today he is in very good condition. Then we need to analyse if it is good to take a risk or not, or be on the bench, or maybe we need to protect him for Tuesday. It's not a big issue and if not Saturday, for Tuesday [away to Monaco in the Champions League] he will be in the squad."

Danny Rose is expected to play some part against the Hammers and Pochettino intimated he may have to change the way he approaches the game after featuring for England in the 3-0 World Cup Qualifier win over Scotland and the 2-2 friendly draw with Spain.

Image: Danny Rose (left) played for England against Scotland and Spain

"Always it's the national team's decision to select the players. I cannot say anything about that," he said.

"If he is [in] condition to play there is nothing to do. I don't want to complain because we need to change our plan to prepare the game for Saturday with him, to give him more rest so he can arrive in better condition, physically and mentally.

"It's true it wasn't the better thing for him to play two games because against Spain he played 78 minutes and it was tough for him after the last few months were tough for him."

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