Mauricio Pochettino arrival would help Newcastle United’s reported interest in Adam Lallana

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Newcastle United’s impending Saudi-backed takeover has seen them linked with plenty of big names, both players and managers. 

As reported by ESPN, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is one of the big names on a four-man shortlist to replace Steve Bruce at the end of the season. 

If the Argentine was to arrive at St James’ Park, it might give Newcastle a good chance of securing a player they have previously been linked with. 

As reported by The Telegraph in December, the Magpies were keen on a potential deal for Adam Lallana. The England international is out of contract at Liverpool in the summer and the Reds are set to let the 34-cap international go on a free. 

The report did suggest at the time that Newcastle would struggle to sign Lallana, considering the amount of competition likely to be present. 

But with added finances, Newcastle could go to the top of the pile. Pochettino’s presence would make a deal even more likely. 

The Argentine managed Lallana at Southampton and was a huge influence on the player’s career. Indeed, the 31-year-old was the club captain during Pochettino’s reign. As Pochettino explained to SportsJoe in 2019, he was incredibly impressed by Lallana the moment he arrived at St Mary’s. 

“When we arrived there, we watched all the analysis videos of him and it was ‘phwoar! What a player!’. But why was he always injured? We needed to do some assessments.

“One day, we called him in and said ‘ok, we’ve looked at why you’re having all these issues and we have created a special plan for you to follow. If you trust and you do it, this is how we see your role for us’. He was so determined to follow it, he was so professional.

“I remember, he was under unbelievable pressure. I needed to know what was wrong. It was because the chairman (Cortese) kept calling him before and after games complaining about the result or the performance. I called the chairman and said, ‘please, stop calling Adam.’ It stopped and bam! – Adam was our best player that season.”

Lallana would be the perfect domestic player to help Newcastle transition into their new status as something of a Premier League financial powerhouse and, seeing as he would cost nothing in terms of transfer fees, would be decent get for the Toon Army. 

If Pochettino was also at the helm, it would allow the pair to continue a top relationship that ended in 2014 when Poch headed to Spurs and Lallana joined Liverpool in a reported (BBC) £25 million deal.