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TOTTENHAM Hotspur are hopeful of appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager in the next 48 hours.
Pochettino appears increasingly likely to leave Southampton after being identified by the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, as his first choice, ahead of Ajax’s Frank de Boer.
Spurs will offer Pochettino a three-year deal worth a potential £9 million, with the club taking the decision to target the Argentine after a board meeting on Friday.
Louis van Gaal had been under serious consideration earlier this year but his decision to join Manchester United following the departure of David Moyes left Pochettino as the standout candidate and Spurs are confident of concluding a deal.
Pochettino is understood to have held talks with the Spurs hierarchy in the past few days after the north Londoners agreed to pay the required £2 million compensation to Southampton.
Crucially, it is thought that Pochettino, who moved to the south coast from Espanyol in January last year, also made it clear to Southampton that he wants to leave St Mary’s to pursue another challenge, with Spurs ready to demand that he delivers Champions League football.
Southampton have been attempting to convince the 42-year-old to sign a new deal for months but his future has been uncertain ever since the departure of Nicola Cortese, previously the club’s chairman and the man who championed his appointment in January 2013 and who remained a staunch ally during the pair’s time together at St Mary’s.
Despite a number of meetings regarding a contract on vastly improved terms Pochettino has never appeared comfortable committing himself to the club beyond his current deal.
Last month he said: “It’s up to the board to discuss with me the new project that will be in place for next season. It’s not up to me to decide when those talks will happen.”
It now seems inevitable that he will depart the club after 16 months, with Southampton facing a huge dilemma over who to appoint as a replacement. Gus Poyet, currently at Sunderland, Neil Lennon, who left Celtic last week, and former Cardiff manager Malky Mackay were among the early favourites with bookmakers last night.
Pochettino’s exit from St Mary’s could hasten a potential exodus of the squad this summer, with England internationals Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana already expected to leave.
Jay Rodriguez, the England international forward, has improved rapidly under Pochettino’s guidance and could follow him to Spurs despite a serious knee injury which ruled him out of a possible place in Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad. Morgan Schneiderlin, the midfielder, may be another to leave Southampton.
Manchester United remain on course to sign Shaw for £27 million despite experiencing frustration over the negotiations for the 18-year-old leftback, who has said that he wants to wait until after the World Cup to resolve his future. Liverpool are also poised to sign Lallana for £30 million with the deal expected to go through before the World Cup. — The Guardian
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