There will be delight among Tottenham chiefs after it emerged Mauricio Pochettino has rejected an approach to become Chelsea boss, allowing the north London outfit to re-hire him once Antonio Conte leaves.

Pochettino has been out of work since being sacked by French giants Paris Saint-Germain in July. He managed to guide them to the Ligue 1 title last season, but this was not enough. PSG were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by eventual winners Real Madrid. They were also beaten in the Coupe de France round of 16.

Late in 2022, Pochettino admitted he ‘misses the Premier League’ and that it is ‘the best league in the world’. And according to 90Min, Pochettino was given the opportunity to replace Graham Potter as Chelsea manager recently.

Potter is under pressure as Chelsea have won just once in 2023. Their last two outings have ended in defeat to Borussia Dortmund and Southampton.

90Min claim Chelsea officials are ‘hugely concerned’ about this poor form and are unsure whether Potter can turn things around. In contrast, chairman Todd Boehly remains behind the English coach, but the Blues have still made contact with Pochettino to see if he would be open to joining.

The Argentine would love to return to management, particularly in the Premier League, but Chelsea ‘are not ticking the right boxes’ for him as things stand.

READ MORE: Tottenham close to finalising out-of-window transfer with attacker to move ‘immediately’

Tottenham will be delighted, as this means Pochettino is still free to become their new manager in the summer.

Antonio Conte’s contract expires at the end of the season and there is a growing feeling around the club he is preparing to leave. The Italian has had a traumatic six months, with Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone sadly passing away in October. Conte also had to have gallbladder surgery recently.

Former Tottenham boss could return as Conte replacement

It would not be a surprise if he went back to Italy this summer, where his family still lives.

And according to transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would be ‘extremely open’ to re-appointing Pochettino as Conte’s replacement.

Pochettino seems like the best fit to take charge. He has previous experience in the Prem, having done a great job at Southampton before his first Spurs spell between 2014 and 2019.

The 50-year-old also tends to play exciting, attacking football. Spurs fans would love to see this after the rather defensive styles of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and sometimes Conte.

Pochettino is even more attractive because of the fact he is a free agent. This means Spurs will not have to pay another team a hefty release clause to bring in Conte’s successor. These fees can be over £10million depending on the calibre of manager.

Plus, Spurs fans already love Pochettino after he took them to second in the Premier League and a Champions League final during his five years at the club.

If Pochettino is to succeed in his second spell at Spurs, then Levy must back him in the transfer market. Spurs certainly need a new goalkeeper and a new centre-back to join this summer.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are reportedly warming to the idea of selling their best player in a change of stance that’ll alert Spurs.

The article Tottenham in dreamland as manager target dismisses Chelsea opportunity and turns attention to north London appeared first on Teamtalk.com.