The Daily Mail claim that Barcelona have made Mauricio Pochettino their number one target to replace Quique Setien as the club’s manager.
In a recent interview with EL Pais, the Argentine appeared to backtrack on his previous comments, where he claimed he would rather work on a farm back in his home country than manage Barcelona, due to his previous Espanyol connections; with his former side now playing in the Spanish second tier.
With the Argentine retracting his previous comments about Barcelona, it is claimed that club president Josep Bartomeu is ready to move for him.
The report claims that Bartomeu made an approach for Pochettino back in January when Ernesto Valverde was sacked but he decided to give the job to Setien instead.
It is said that the Barca president shares an excellent relationship with Pochettino and wants the former Tottenham boss to replace Setien should Barcelona fail to win the Champions League this season.
With the previous front-runner for the job, Xavi said to have made it clear that he will not work under the current president, it is suggested that Pochettino is the favourite as things stand.
Spurs Web Opinion
Pochettino certainly deserves a job at a top club like Barcelona. It will be the right next step for him as he will be expected to deliver silverware on a consistent basis. However, things are certainly not set up for the Argentine to succeed at Barca, should he get the job.
Not only will his Espanyol connections and his previous comments about Barcelona count against him but it is clear that Xavi is the popular choice. With Barca potentially getting a new president next year, the sentiment could turn against him quickly if he does not make a good start.
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