Daniel Levy will step up his bid to bring outside investment into Tottenham Hotspur and will tell Mauricio Pochettino he will not get the same level of control at any other club as he fights to keep the Argentine.

Manchester United have identified Pochettino as their preferred candidate to permanently succeed Jose Mourinho, while Real Madrid are also keen on Tottenham’s manager.

Levy is braced for a battle to try to keep Pochettino, who signed a new £8.5 million-a-year contract in May, and wants to give him more encouragement that Tottenham can remain competitive once they move into their new stadium.

Delays and spiralling costs have meant that the final bill for the new stadium project is likely to exceed £1 billion and Tottenham’s net debt is worth up to £637m.

Pochettino suggested he has no money to spend in the January transfer window by showing empty pockets when asked on Tuesday and Tottenham do not expect to be busy in terms of incomings in the next transfer window.