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Football

27th May 2021

Tottenham Hotspur in talks with Mauricio Pochettino over shock return to club

Pochettino is reportedly frustrated at PSG, and would consider a return to the club where he spent five years as head coach

Reuben Pinder

He’s magic, you know

Tottenham Hotspur have entered talks with Mauricio Pochettino to discuss a potential return to the club this summer, according to The Athletic.

It is thought that Pochettino has failed to settle in Paris and grown frustrated with the club’s hierarchy during the five months he has spent PSG, and would therefore be open to a return to Spurs.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, meanwhile, needs to get the fanbase back onside after the failure of the José Mourinho appointment, followed by the universally unpopular attempt to join the Super League, and the club’s generally disappointing form this season.

Bringing Pochettino back would also potentially go some way to convincing Harry Kane to stay at the club.

It won’t be an easy move to execute, though. With a year left to run on his contract at PSG, the club would rather not have to endure the hassle of hiring another new coach after such a short period of time. And so if Pochettino really did want the move badly enough that he was willing to waive a severance package, he would have to resign.

Pochettino’s time at PSG cannot really be deemed a success after a second place finish in Ligue 1 behind Lille, in spite of the Parisians’ victory in the domestic cup.

Though that will not deter Spurs fans from welcoming back the man who took them to the 2019 Champions League final and mounted two title challenges in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag is another name linked with the vacancy at Spurs, indicating a clear intention behind their next appointment: less focus on the vague intangible of a ‘winning mentality’, more focus on attractive, attacking football.