Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly set to be given a real scare as it’s claimed that Barcelona wish to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their next coach.
Speculation has been rife this week that the Catalan giants have put together a shortlist of possible candidates to become Luis Enrique’s successor at the end of the season.
According to The Daily Star, Pochettino is on that list, and given the impressive nature of his work as a manager over the last few years, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all were he to be near the top of the list of targets.
Having got the ball rolling with excellent spells at Espanyol and Southampton, the Argentine tactician has taken himself and Spurs to the next level since arriving at White Hart Lane as the club are in the midst of a Premier League title race for the second consecutive season.
Pochettino can be credited for a lot of the positive work done at Spurs since 2014, and it’s no surprise that Barca are considering the 44-year-old as a possible future coach.
It comes at a time when it’s claimed that Enrique and the La Liga outfit are planning a parting of ways at the end of the season, as per the Star, despite the level of success that he has enjoyed since taking up the post.
Barca currently trail rivals Real Madrid by six points in the title race, albeit they have a game in hand, but they have failed to deliver consistently this season which has also led to question marks over Enrique’s future.
While it’s only to be expected that a club of their stature is linked with all the top managers across Europe, it’s likely going to be incredibly difficult to prise Pochettino away from Tottenham.
Not only are the club in a strong position given he signed a new contract last summer, but there is a solid project being built at White Hart Lane with plenty of room for growth moving forward and so it has to be asked whether Pochettino would really be ready to walk away from that in favour of Barca.