Five months after losing his position as Tottenham boss, Mauricio Pochettino made it crystal clear that he would one day like to return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take his place in the hot-seat. Talk of a homecoming has not gone away since, with the Argentine linked with the position after Jose Mourinho's dismissal and now once again amid question marks over Antonio Conte's future in the capital.
Now in charge of Paris Saint-Germain but looking increasingly to leave his role despite helping them to Ligue 1 title success, it is current Tottenham boss Conte who has been tipped to replace him at the Parc des Princes Stadium. According to French publication Le Parisien, the Italian is believed to have offered himself to the French club ahead of next term.
Conte may have only arrived at Tottenham in November after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo but question marks have always remained over his long-term future at the club. His future will become clearer in the coming weeks when he sits down with Daniel Levy and managing director of football Fabio Paratici once the current campaign comes to an end.
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Amid the current reports regarding the 52-year-old, football.london understands there is no official break clause this summer in the former Inter Milan manager's deal. While doubt remains over both Conte and Pochettino ahead of 2022/23, the latter is going to face a big call in regards to a Tottenham comeback at some point down the line.
Speaking to BT Sport in April 2020, Pochettino outlined his intention to return to north London, but it could be five or possibly 10 years when he steps through the door once again.
"It was an amazing journey that finished the way no one wanted it to finish. But deep in my heart, I am sure our paths will cross again," he said. "From the day I left the club, my dream is to be back one day and to try to finish the work we didn't finish. We were so closing to winning the Premier League and Champions League.
"But of course I am looking forward to moving on and I am so motivated for the next project. But deep inside I want to go back because the fans are so special. Maybe in five years, maybe in 10 years, but before I die I want to manage Tottenham.
"I want to feel what it means to win one title with Tottenham because the fans are amazing, all the love we received was amazing and that is a good opportunity to pay back all the love they showed us from day one."
A return at some point in the future does look increasingly likely going on his comments, although it may come a lot sooner than many initially envisaged. Appearing to be a future manager of Manchester United due to his Premier League experience and their need for a rebuild, Ajax boss Erik ten Hag will instead succeed interim boss Ralf Rangnick come the summer following official confirmation last week.
That means Pochettino has such a key decision to make in terms of his next job as he may only have a few more weeks left in the French capital going on the latest speculation. Reports from France have claimed that Levy has been calling Pochettino repeatedly about coming back to Spurs, yet those within the Argentine's camp have told football.london that is not the case.
The Tottenham question will always be there for the Argentine but it will come down to when exactly he wants to return and when the timing is right. Now almost two-and-a-half years since Levy parted with him following a poor run of form, is it too soon to take on the job again?
The club is different to the one he left, with the chairman electing last summer to go with a different structure following the arrival of Paratici from Juventus. Pochettino is not the biggest fan of the sporting director setup, however, and has reportedly had a strained relationship with Leonardo in Paris.
Spurs themselves have not exactly kicked on since his exit after failing to secure a Champions League finish two seasons on the trot and much more still needs to be done. Tottenham are in a position to return to Europe's premier competition for 2022/23 but all will depend on how they fare in their final five games as they fight it out with rivals Arsenal for fourth.
The Lilywhites have made strides recently and look a much better team following the signings of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, as well as spending quality time over a sustained period with Conte at Hotspur Way. However, there is still a way to go in the "painful rebuild" Pochettino alluded to not long before his exit.
It could indeed be Pochettino who is the man to come in and finish the rebuild if a return comes to fruition a lot earlier than people expected. The old adage you should never go back is often brought up in football, but it seems to be a matter of when, not if he will become Tottenham boss once again.
Pochettino is the only person who knows when the time will be right.
