Journalist Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is facing a new twist in the search for the club’s next manager after Fabio Paratici’s worldwide ban from football potentially opened the door for a Pochettino return.
Last weekend, the club announced they had parted ways with Antonio Conte after 16 months in charge.
Conte’s former assistant, Cristian Stellini, will now take charge until the end of the season, with assistance from Ryan Mason.
It is unknown who will become the next permanent manager at Tottenham, with many names thought to be on Levy’s shortlist, including the likes of Julian Nagelsmann (Telegraph).
Pochettino has long been linked with a return to the club (Mail Online). The Argentine was sacked in November 2019, but has been unemployed since leaving PSG last summer.
In his role as sporting director, Paratici would have been integral to the search for a new manager, but with his 30-month ban extended globally (BBC Sport) it now appears Spurs may have to cut ties with the Italian if his appeal is unsuccessful.
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According to Jones, the fact that Paratici may no longer be involved in operations at the club could well lead to Pochettino’s return, despite Levy having some doubts over rehiring the 51-year-old.
He said: “Levy had always fancied bringing Pochettino back and that was going to clash eventually with Paratici’s role, so it looked like it would be up to the Italian to bring forward names that would make him think otherwise.
“What actually happened recently is that I’m told Levy started to have second thoughts about a Poch return, and that’s why he hasn’t rushed into it right now.
It will be interesting to see how he deals with the situation as this Paratici situation plays out – the whole process is looking slightly different to the one we were expecting.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I am still of the opinion that we should be looking for a new manager rather than going backwards and hiring an ex-manager.
Pochettino is great, but we have to move forwards and find a fresh face to undertake a rebuild at the club.
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