Journalist Gianluca di Marzio has expressed his belief that Mauricio Pochettino should be Tottenham’s next coach if Antonio Conte leaves the club.
Over the past few weeks, multiple sources have reported that Conte’s future at Spurs is uncertain and that the North London club could potentially turn to managers like Pochettino or Thomas Tuchel to replace the Italian.
TuttoMercatoWeb even claimed last week that the Tottenham hierarchy has already made direct contact with Pochettino’s camp about a possible return to the club.
However, journalist Alasdair Gold stated in a recent Q&A on Football London that, unless there’s a significant conflict between Daniel Levy and Conte, the Italian manager will remain at the club until the end of the current season.
Gold also mentioned that the Spurs hierarchy is divided over the idea of bringing back Pochettino.
Meanwhile, Di Marzio believes that Pochettino would be the best fit for the job due to his prior knowledge of the club and its mentality.
The journalist stated in an interview with Soccer News:
“I think Pochettino would be the right successor to Conte, for the simple reason that he already knows the ‘Tottenham world’ like the back of his hand.”
Di Marzio also commented that Antonio Conte and Tottenham are not currently discussing a contract extension and that he doesn’t expect one. He said:
“At the moment, Antonio Conte and Tottenham are no longer talking about a contract extension, because Antonio is completely focused on the games and his family. I don’t expect an extension, but that’s my prediction.”
And regarding links with Diego Simeone, he suggested that his defensive playing style is unlikely to be well-received by Tottenham fans, who want to see a team that attacks and plays an offensive-minded game.
“As for Diego Simeone; his defensive style of play will probably not be received too well by Tottenham fans.
“They want to see a team that attacks, a team that tries to play spectacularly with all those offensive-minded players running around there. And that is obviously not a good match with the ‘Diego Simeone mentality’.”
Tottenham fans have already been critical of Spurs’ passive style of play under Antonio Conte, a serial winner, and they were also critical of their style of play under Mourinho, so it is fair to assume that Simeone’s style of play will not be appreciated either.
Mauricio Pochettino will undoubtedly be a much better option for Spurs to consider, and he will be well-received by Spurs fans who have a good relationship with the former manager, whose tenure at the club is widely regarded as one of the best at Spurs.
