Tottenham supporters haven’t been shy over who they want as next manager.
During their recent malaise, fans have often been singing the names of two people. Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino. But while the chants directed at the former are less than flattering, their message to their ex-boss is clear. Come home.
It’s rare that a manager is sacked with the overwhelming support of the fanbase, but that is certainly the case with Pochettino. Any concerns about the Argentine have been largely erased thanks to the dismal failures of his pragmatic successors; Jose Mounriho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
The halcyon days of Tottenham ’s title bid and their run to the Champions League final are looked upon through the rosiest of tinted sunglasses. The opportunity then for Levy to rehire the 51-year-old is a tantalising and almost universally approved one.
How painful it would be then for those Spurs fans if Pochettino does return to the capital, but heads west and answers Chelsea's SOS call instead. Mirror Football understands that the Blues have held talks with the ex-PSG head coach over replacing Graham Potter.
Julian Nagelsmann remains Todd Boehly’s top target, but it is believed that Pochettino has plenty of admirers within the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge and he has placed himself firmly in the picture.
However, it would take a public change of heart from Pochettino if he was to accept any advances from Chelsea. Speaking during his final months in the Tottenham hotseat, Pochettino suggested that he would not be interested in managing the rivals of the clubs he holds so dearly.
"I am so clear I am never going to be manager of Barcelona or Arsenal because I am so identified with Tottenham and Espanyol," he explained.
"It’s not down to me. Always I work like I want to be here [at Tottenham] for the rest of my life. That is my responsibility, how I take my job. The way I work is like thinking I’m going to stay forever in the same club. It’s the best way to commit to your job."
Whether being dismissed by Tottenham has changed his thought process remains to be seen. After all, Jose Mourinho - the man who replaced him in the Spurs dugout - admitted to that very same U-turn.
"I would not take the [Tottenham] job because I love Chelsea supporters too much,” Mourinho said in 2015, but after getting the job for real four years later, he joked: "That's before I was sacked!”
David Webb, a scout at Tottenham during Pochettino’s first stint at the club, suggested his old boss would be open to a return - if an offer was forthcoming. "I don’t know the ins-and-outs of how fractured Poch’s relationship is with Daniel [Levy, Spurs' chairman]. And I don’t think that Poch wants to pigeon-hole himself solely to the Premier League,” Webb said last month.
“If a good offer were to come up in Spain or Germany, he’d be open to that, too. But the Premier League will always be his first choice. He was phenomenal at Tottenham — and would be open to it again.”
