Tottenham chief Daniel Levy would be very open to working with former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino again in the future, though it’s not yet clear what will happen with Antonio Conte.
And, according to Ben Jacobs in this week’s exclusive CaughtOffside column, West Ham might also be a surprise name to keep an eye on as Pochettino weighs up his next move, as it seems the Argentine has previously been targeted by the Hammers.
Pochettino has been out of work for a while now after leaving his position at Paris Saint-Germain, and one imagines both he and Tottenham would relish the chance to work together again.
Things didn’t work out for Pochettino at PSG, but he previously became regarded as one of the very finest managers in world football in his stint in charge of Spurs, so he could be a strong candidate to replace Conte if the Italian tactician does end up leaving.
It seems David Moyes might also be in some danger at West Ham, in which case an appointment like Pochettino would be some statement if they could pull it off.
“Pochettino’s mentality is that he’s willing to wait until the end of the season and assess what’s available in a calmer environment, and see if he can start a job that gives him a full pre-season,” Jacobs said.
“There are a few clubs of interest, and most of them will have European football. There’s been talk of a Tottenham return and my understanding is that Daniel Levy would be extremely open to bringing Pochettino back should Antonio Conte leave.
“There’s nothing totally defined yet in terms of Conte’s future, and Spurs are relaxed about the situation with all parties ready to wait to see how the project develops. But come March or April we should know where Spurs and Conte stand.
“If the Italian leaves, Pochettino will be a very serious candidate and he remains in touch with Levy. He won’t be the only name on the list, but he would, for example, be ahead of Thomas Tuchel, who Spurs don’t consider the right fit.
“Pochettino is also monitoring the situations at both Real (where he’s been linked before) and Atletico Madrid.”
Jacobs added: “The only left-field option in the Premier League to keep an eye on is West Ham. David Moyes is safe for now after two encouraging draws against Newcastle and West Ham.
“But late last year, Pochettino was one of the names the West Ham board considered in case a change was necessary.”
Conte is gone n I don’t blame him levy filled with broken promises he does it to fans every year ex players say about it so he will do it to mangers witch we all can see levy is only really interest in the ground shop training ground n bums in seat n while bums are in seats he won’t change anything there doing 4-5 choice players are why we r in this mess if we sign 1-2 top players each window instead of 5-6 average players we would be in better postion n a far better team our recruitment team we have was put in place by levy n they no nothing about the right players we need it’s at the point of a player does well for a month or two or has a top top gane we try to sign them or levy will low ball our 1st pick and pi$$ everyone off so they go else where boycott the lot best hing is only needs to happen a few times before he needs to listen or it gets to much n they sell nothing will every change will bums in seats