Tottenham prepare for Pochettino exit by targeting Argentina coach Sampaoli

Tottenham Hotspur have begun preparing for the possibility of losing Mauricio Pochettino as manager at the end of the current season. Aware of his candidacy to replace Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, the English Premier League club is conscious the Argentine would find it difficult to resist an offer from the European champions.

Tottenham – who have made substantial progress under Pochettino without ever converting their opportunities to win silverware – are working on a list of potential successors should a change of manager be forced upon them. One name under serious consideration is Pochettino’s compatriot, Jorge Sampaoli.

Sampaoli will lead Argentina in this summer’s World Cup Finals, after which the 57-year-old is expected to seek a return to European club football. The Argentine federation bought out Sampaoli’s contract with Sevilla in May in order to secure a coach capable of turning around a World Cup qualifying campaign that threatened to cost the national team a place in Russia.

It is understood that Tottenham are yet to contact Sampaoli in person; first taking soundings from those who have worked with a coach who established a global reputation by leading Chile to the knock-out rounds of the last World Cup, where they were narrowly eliminated by hosts Brazil.

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Sampaoli followed that achievement by winning the 2015 Copa America, was shortlisted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year award, then led Sevilla to a fourth-place Liga finish in his single season at the Spanish club.

In his fourth campaign at White Hart Lane, Pochettino’s current stint as a Premier League manager is surpassed only by Arsene Wenger. Since arriving from Southampton in the summer of 2014, he has twice taken Tottenham to a position where they were the closest end-of-season challengers for the title.

Calibre

The 45-year-old’s contract runs until 2021, yet he is conscious that Daniel Levy is unlikely to restructure the club’s recruitment policy to allow his manager to compete for the calibre of player available to England’s more affluent clubs.

While Pochettino was sceptical about his readiness to take on the task of rebuilding Manchester United when there was interest from Old Trafford in 2016, he has not sought to distance himself from Madrid.

“My commitment is massive in this club, I am working like I am going to be here forever,” said Pochettino last month. “But in the end, it is like the players, you never know what is going to happen in football.

“It is a lot of rumours about this, about that. Tomorrow, Daniel could have a bad night and say: ‘Oh I am going to sack Mauricio.’ And then I look stupid saying I am not going to work in one place or another or another.

“You never know in football. That is the problem. It is a very unstable situation. It’s not only you. It’s about the results, the ideas, it’s the chairman, he can change the chairman, and say ‘Come on, out.’”

Tottenham have strongly denied the report. A club spokesperson said: “This is completely unfounded and irresponsible.”