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Mauricio Pochettino will replace Antonio Conte as Tottenham Hotspur manager.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who thinks it is only a matter before Pochettino returns to his former club.
Since he was dismissed from his role at Spurs at the end of 2019, Pochettino has managed just one other club – PSG.
Although his spell with PSG lasted just over 12 months, Pochettino’s reputation as a top manager is still intact, and following Conte’s abysmal run of results at Spurs, Collymore thinks the sensible option for chairman Daniel Levy is to give the South American his old job back.
“I could be wrong, but I’m still not sure he’ll go until the end of the season but it certainly looks to be a matter of when not if,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
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“I wouldn’t be surprised if Mauricio Pochettino is already a done deal to go back there. The thing with a possible return for Pochettino is that if Conte goes, all the pressure will be on Daniel Levy to get the next appointment right and the safest option is their former manager and one the fans adore.”
Collymore isn’t wrong. The majority of Lilywhites fans still look back on their five years with Pochettino in charge fondly. Although the Londoners failed to lift a major trophy, they came as close as they have ever been to experiencing domestic and European success under the progressive Argentine.
Another reason the 50-year-old is so widely-regarded in the country’s capital is the brand of football Spurs played while working under him. Quick in transition, with attacking duo Son Heung-min and Harry Kane virtually unplayable at times, Spurs, under Pochettino, continually found themselves inside the Premier League’s top three or four teams – a distant memory from where they are at the moment.
“Spurs need to reestablish the kind of club they want to be,” Collymore added.
“I’m sure that’s a side that consistently competes in the Champions League while playing some breathtaking football along the way, and there is no one out there capable of restoring that philosophy than Pochettino.”
