By Wayne Veysey

24th Oct, 2016 | 9:17am

Lord Sugar: Alex Ferguson tried to lure senior Tottenham man to Man United this summer

By Alex Stevens

Lord Sugar has admitted his fears that Manchester United will make another move for Mauricio Pochettino.

The former Tottenham chairman claimed on his personal Twitter account on Monday morning that Sir Alex Ferguson took the Spurs manager for lunch during the summer.

Sugar revealed his concern that Pochettino could be lured to Old Trafford after Manchester United were thrashed 4-0 by Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

The defeat has increased the pressure on Jose Mourinho, who was appointed the new Old Trafford manager in the summer and was backed to the hilt in the summer market with a wave of big-money signings including world record capture Paul Pogba.

By contrast, Pochettino is making steady progress at Tottenham, who are unbeaten after nine league matches this season, after making a profit on transfers in his two-and-a-half years at the helm.

Speaking about United trying to lure Pochettino, Sugar said: “I hope they keep their hands off him. It’s the first time for years Spurs see some light.”

The Telegraph claim the Tottenham boss was Ferguson’s “first choice” to replace Louis van Gaal when he was sacked at the end of last season.

United subsequently hired Mourinho as their new manager on a four-year contract, while Pochettino signed a five-year deal with Spurs.

The 44-year-old Argentine has emerged as one of the most in-demand young managers in the world after transforming the fortunes of Tottenham.

Pochettino guided the Londoners to a third place finish last season and they have carried on where they left off this season to be just one point behind leaders Manchester City. By contrast, United are in seventh position and five points behind Spurs.

Ferguson, who is widely regarded as the greatest manager in British football history, remains a hugely influential figure in the game and is also a United director.

He was spotted having lunch with Pochettino and his Spurs assistant Jesus Perez towards the end of last season.

Photographs in The Sun caught the Tottenham manager and Manchester United director outside swanky Scott’s restaurant in the West End.

There were claims that Ferguson could be using his influence to try to convince Pochettino to leave north London, although it was subsequently said the lunch was arranged because there is mutual admiration from both sides and that Tottenham were also aware of the talks taking place.

Speaking last season, the legendary former United boss said of Tottenham: “Well, the manager [Pochettino] has been fantastic.

“They have a bad record of managers, there is no doubt about that. They have had so many over the years, but this lad has composure.

“You never see him ruffled and the way his team play is a testimony to the work he is doing.”

In other Tottenham news, Graeme Souness has explained why Pochettino has got lucky at both Spurs and former club Southampton.