Guillem Balague claims three European giants after Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino

Add as preferred source on Google

Guillem Balague has claimed in his BBC Sport column that Champions League trio Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Juventus are all interested in Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Tottenham fans have enjoyed a sigh of relief over the past few weeks. That is because Real Madrid have decided to appoint Zinedine Zidane for a second spell, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been confirmed as Manchester United’s permanent manager.

The two clubs were the front runners for the Argentine. But Pochettino has four years remaining on his contract as Tottenham manager – which is worth £163,000 a week (Telegraph) – and that has deterred interested parties.

But Pochettino’s morale is likely to be low. Spurs have picked up one point from a possible 15. The new stadium might not deter from the belief that he has taken Spurs as far as they can go.

Ahead of the summer, Balague has claimed that Juventus, Inter and Bayern all want Pochettino – and has thrown weight behind the chance of Pochettino leaving Spurs. It is believed he may cost as much as £40million.

“With Real Madrid and Manchester United now out of the equation, the talk is that Juventus, Inter and Bayern Munich have studied the possibility of luring Pochettino away from Spurs,” Balague said.

“If any one of the three feel that is the way ahead, they would need to find something in the region of £30m-£40m to stand any chance of prising him away from [Daniel] Levy.

“Mixed results and poor performances have even led the players’ attitude to be questioned by the manager himself. Has the team peaked? It feels that way.”

TBR’s view

The sheer cost to lure Pochettino away from Spurs could be the determining factor in keeping him under lock and key. Daniel Levy deserves praise for his smart acumen.

To spend £40million on a manager that has little experience in Spain and mostly in England. A manager that is yet to win anything. A manager that has not surpassed the last eight of the Champions League, would be risky.

Bayern and Juventus are two enormous sides, dominating German and Italian club football. Pochettino certainly has the talent as a manager, but the experience eludes him. Taking Spurs to the summit would give him that.