Mauricio Pochettino believes that Tottenham Hotspur’s current squad has much better ‘quality’ than the one he inherited back in 2014.
Over the weekend, Tottenham confirmed the appointment of Igor Tudor as interim until the end of the season, setting up the chance for a permanent appointment in the summer.
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Pochettino appears to be one of the leading contenders for the permanent Spurs job, and the Argentine seems excited by that prospect.
The 53-year-old has clearly been discussing the possibility of a return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having spoken with people close to him about the current squad.
Mauricio Pochettino on Tottenham’s current squad
Mauricio Pochettino has been telling people close to him that Tottenham Hotspur’s current squad is in a better state than when he took over in 2014, according to Martin Lipton.
The Argentine arrived in North London, where he inherited a real mess of a squad, having to start the likes of Younes Kaboul, Kyle Naughton and Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Lilywhites’ squad, although battling relegation, has far more individual quality, which a top coach should be able to utilise.
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Lipton told The Whistle Blows: “Speaking to people who know Poch, I’m told that he sees the situation the club is in now as actually better than the one he inherited in 2014.
“That he thinks actually there’s more quality in the squad than he had when he came into that squad.”
Right now, Tottenham view Pochettino as the ideal candidate, and everything seems to be pointing towards his return in the summer.
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At this stage, a return was not possible, given that he is contracted to the United States national team until after the 2026 World Cup.
The prospect of Pochettino working with the likes of Xavi Simons, Micky van de Ven, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray should be rather exciting.
Although they have not really shown it, Pochettino is right that the current squad is far more exciting than the one he took charge of almost 12 years ago.
Tottenham are ‘effectively waiting’ for Mauricio Pochettino
Meanwhile, Tom Barclay believes that Tottenham are ‘effectively waiting’ for Pochettino, given they have gone down the route of an interim.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Barclay said: “We’ll wait to see if that is actually the case because very much a lot of people think that they are effectively waiting for Pochettino and I think that there’s a lot of truth in that argument.
“Obviously, he’s not available until he’s done with the USA at the World Cup. He can never have done this job role on a dual basis. So, that romantic return feels very much still on the cards.”