Mauricio Pochettino says links between Tottenham Hotspur and Brazilian winger Malcom are just rumours, and he’s happy with his current squad.

After Arsenal’s pulled out of a deal for Malcom last week, Spurs reportedly made their move. David Ornstein confirmed Pochettino’s admiration for the player, but said he hadn’t heard about a bid.

Goal Brazil indicated the North London club and Bordeaux agreed on a £40m transfer. Pochettino disputed this claim, however, and told Sky Sports: “That is a rumour and I don’t want to speak about it. I am happy with our squad. We are open to quality players, but it is difficult in this transfer window.”

From the sounds of things, the deal is nowhere near as close to completion as some reports claimed. Looking at the situation cynically, Goal might just have gambled on Spurs having an interest. We all know Malcom’s representatives came to London. If they weren’t agreeing a deal with Arsenal, Tottenham were the next best guess.

After Pochettino’s comments, I think the most likely alternative was they were just doing their job and generating interest. If the agents know Arsenal and Spurs are watching the player, why not fly over and ask if they want to make an offer? It certainly got us all talking about the 20-year-old.

Right now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is buying the player in the current window. Hopefully that’s good news for Arsenal, because they’re free to go back in the summer. We’ll see if they do.