‘Imagine’: Pundit in awe of what reported Newcastle target could bring to SJP, he’s ‘perfect’

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Reported Newcastle United managerial target Mauricio Pochettino is “the perfect manager” for the Magpies, according to talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy.

According to Sky Sports, the Argentine is the number one choice by the prospective new Newcastle owners to be the next manager at St James’ Park.

The report claims that they are willing to pay Pochettino £19million a year to succeed Steve Bruce at the end of the season – whenever that may be.

Pochettino is currently out of work, having been axed by Tottenham Hotspur late last year.

The 48-year-old did a superb job at Spurs, turning what was a fairly modest Premier League side into one challenging for silverware and reaching the Champions League final last season.

“Pochettino is an outstanding manager,” Cundy said on talkSPORT’s Sports Bar. “I’ve said for many years now: if he was given a cheque book imagine what he could have done.

“He overachieved at Spurs; he was given the tools to work with, but imagine if he was given £70-80m to go and buy another striker.

“Maybe he was given even more; a player who can turn a game out of nothing, like a [Philippe] Coutinho for example – a player who gives you something a little different. He is the perfect manager!”

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One of the main criticisms of Pochettino is that he didn’t win major silverware at Spurs, but Cundy said it’s “irrelevant” given he “didn’t have the backing of a board at Spurs” and “was on a self-imposed transfer ban”, in the former Chelsea man’s words.

With Pochettino potentially in line for a huge transfer war chest were he to join a newly-wealthy Newcastle side, the untapped potential within him could finally yield silverware – something both the coach and the club are worthy of but has eluded them in recent years.