Mauricio Pochettino said he attempted to persuade Paul Mitchell to stay at Tottenham Hotspur and that the decision of the club’s head of recruitment to quit has left him “very disappointed”.
Mitchell tendered his resignation on Tuesday, having had enough of the constraints of his job. Pochettino mentioned “personal things that happened” but he made it clear he did not want Mitchell to leave. He has a close relationship with him, that dates to their time together at their previous club, Southampton.
Mitchell will serve a notice period at Tottenham and he will work until the end of the summer transfer window, at least, as the club chase the “one or two” signings Pochettino said he was hoping to make. The manager and the squad went out for dinner on Wednesday and Mitchell was in attendance, too.
“It’s obvious that happened,” Pochettino said, when asked whether he had tried to persuade Mitchell to stay. “But when you take a choice and there are personal things that happened, there’s nothing to do – only respect his decision.
“We carry on working. He’s with us, he’s in the office. Last night, we had a dinner with the squad and he was with us. Nothing has changed for the moment. This is the most important thing – that we work in the same way we were before it happened.”
Pochettino made no comment on the club’s move for the Marseille winger, Georges-Kévin Nkoudou, which has become problematic, with both clubs claiming the other side have moved the goalposts.
On Mitchell, Pochettino added: “I feel very disappointed with his decision. It’s his personal choice. We have a relationship from Southampton and I feel very disappointed. But when a person takes a personal decision, what can I do? He’s still working with us. We’ll see what happens. We need to finish the three weeks [of the window] working together, and try to do the best business for the club. Then, we’ll see what happens.”
