Fabrizio Romano has attempted to explain Mauricio Pochettino’s attendance at Wembley this week for the game between England and Germany.
There continues to be speculation over Gareth Southgate’s future at the moment, with the Three Lions on a dreadful run of form ahead of this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
Pochettino will have raised a few eyebrows by appearing at Wembley while he’s out of work and while Southgate’s future remains uncertain, but Romano insists it’s normal for top coaches to come and watch big games like this.
The Argentine was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain in the summer after a slightly underwhelming spell in charge of the Ligue 1 giants, but one imagines it won’t be long before he’s back in a big job after the tremendous work he did during his time at Tottenham.
For now, however, Romano insists that Pochettino is not close to a new job, and that he’s relaxed and calm about his future as he looks to return to the game soon.
“I’ve seen reports about Gareth Southgate’s uncertain future as England manager, and so Mauricio Pochettino being at Wembley for the Germany game added even more fuel to the fire,” Romano wrote in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
“However, it’s absolutely normal for a top coach to watch top games, as Pochettino did for England-Germany. He was recently approached by Nice but it was never close or advanced as he’s looking for different options.
“At the moment, there are no contacts with FA and nothing will happen before the World Cup; Pochettino is really quiet and relaxed, waiting for a new opportunity. He doesn’t want to take a break from football management. I think we’ll see him again soon, but where he ends up remains to be seen.”
England could surely do a lot worse than swoop for Pochettino if he is still available and if Southgate does indeed end up leaving his role soon.