Mauricio Pochettino is holding off on taking the Real Madrid job because he wants to discover if the Manchester United and Manchester City jobs become available, per The Sun.
What’s the word?
The report states that the Spanish giants are keen to seal a deal with the Argentine, who has been out of work since his sacking by Tottenham Hotspur in November.
However, he has rejected the offer because he is keen to see if there will be an opportunity for him in England; he is interested in managing both United and City.
He is said to be excited by the prospect of restoring United to former glories – they haven’t won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure – while The Sun reports that there is speculation Pep Guardiola could walk away from City at the end of the season.
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The English champions are 14 points behind Liverpool already while Guardiola’s assistant, Mikel Arteta, has taken over at Arsenal; Pochettino is said to believe that he could be a legitimate option if the former Barcelona boss does leave.
Has his pick
Clearly, Pochettino has his choice of jobs at this point.
The Sun claims that he is United’s top choice, while he could well be a genuinely brilliant appointment for City, should Guardiola leave; he would suddenly have all the resources he lacked in north London as well as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero at his disposal.
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It makes sense for the manager to wait, too, because previous reports have claimed that any interested club will have to negotiate with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. Tottenham will be due compensation if he takes another job this season.
Thus, he is essentially freeing himself up if he waits until the summer when he could well be able to pick his own destiny.
If the City, United and Real jobs are all available, a bidding war could erupt and that can only benefit Pochettino.
This, then, is a smart move.
Meanwhile, Football FanCast has learned of Spurs’ ideal scenario for Christian Eriksen’s potential exit.