MAURICIO POCHETTINO has fought off an approach from Marseilles for Tottenham transfer guru Steve Hitchen.
Hitchen, 42, has turned down the sporting-director role with the French giants to help rebuild Poch’s squad this summer as chief scout.
And the Spurs boss is massively relieved to keep one his key men behind the scenes at the club.
Hitchen, an ex-player with Blackburn and Macclesfield, masterminded Luis Suarez’s move from Ajax to Liverpool during his spell at Anfield.
And his network of foreign contacts landed Champions League hero Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain and another raid on Holland for Davinson Sanchez.
The highly-regarded scout was wanted at Marseille to work with new boss Andre Villas-Boas, the ex-Spurs coach, to bring in top talent in Europe for the right money.
But his relationship with Poch and chairman Daniel Levy, who snapped him up in 2017, means he will stay at Tottenham and try to bolster the squad of the Champions League finalists.
Fulham winger Ryan Sessegnon is a target and Hitchen has been searching for a central midfielder for Poch, with Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso a player he has looked at closely.
The likely departure of Christian Eriksen has made signing a playmaker a big necessity for Poch.
And with Toby Alderweireld’s £25m release clause most probably triggered by the likes of Manchester United and PSG, Spurs will also need a centre-half.
Poch has also spoken about strengthening in the full-back positions with Keiran Trippier and Danny Rose continually linked with moving on.
