If Mauricio Pochettino leaves Tottenham Hotspur then the north London outfit will look to Gareth Southgate as his replacement.
That’s the bombshell dropped by the Daily Mirror, which claims that the England manager is the “No.1 choice to replace Pochettino”.
The Argentine’s future at Spurs is under scrutiny after their stuttering start to the season and his recent public criticism of his players.
After their humiliating defeat to Colchester in the third round of the Carabao Cup last week, Pochettino talked of divisions within the dressing room, and there are rumours that has led to further discontent among the Spurs players.
The situation was eased on Saturday with Spurs beating Southampton 2-1 in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Poch to Real or United?
Reports in Spain suggest that Pochettino is Real Madrid’s preferred option to replace Zinedine Zidane should the Frenchman get the sack in the near future.
There are also rumours that Manchester United are eyeing up Poch in the event that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can’t revive the fortunes of the Old Trafford club.
Stan Collymore predicts in the Mirror that Pochettino “remains the most obvious candidate” to replace Norwegian Solskjaer.
England achievements
The Mirror claims that the Spurs board “believe Southgate’s relationship with the club’s England stars would make him the ideal successor to Pochettino”.
The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Danny Rose and Eric Dier have all blossomed under the Three Lions boss’s tutelage at international level, and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is keen to bring Southgate’s savoir-faire to the club.
According to the Mirror, Pochettino still has a “good relationship” with Levy but that could change if Spurs don’t qualify for the knockout stage of the Uefa Champions League.
To that end, Tuesday’s home clash against Bayern Munich is crucial after Tottenham drew 2-2 in their opening group B match away at Olympiakos.
Financial burden
The Sun says that Levy is prepared to be patient with the 47-year-old Pochettino, but there is also the question of money if he does decide to axe the Argentine.
He would be entitled to receive full pay for the remaining four years of his contract, and “more importantly, he would also walk into his next job without compensation going to the club he started rebuilding five seasons ago”.
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