GIMME MAUR Mauricio Pochettino wants Premier League return after PSG axe… but wouldn’t join Arsenal due to Tottenham links

MAURICIO POCHETTINO is targeting a Prem return after his Paris Saint-Germain sacking.

Posted Wednesday, July 06, 2022 by Thesun.co.uk

Argentine Poch was finally released from months of managerial purgatory when he was axed by PSG and replaced by Christophe Galtier.

GIMME MAUR Mauricio Pochettino wants Premier League return after PSG axe… but wouldn’t join Arsenal due to Tottenham links
Mauricio Pochettino is keen for a return to the Premier League after being sacked by PSG Credit: Reuters

And the former Spurs chief is already eyeing the next major vacancy in the Prem as he prepares for a quick return to top flight football.

Pochettino has retained his home in London even after being sacked by Tottenham in October 2019.

Spurs chief Daniel Levy was keen on bringing him back to N17 last summer only for Poch to stay on in Paris.

With Antonio Conte now installed and in command at the Lane, the door to a Tottenham return appears closed.

But while his love for Spurs means Pochettino would rule out the prospect of joining Arsenal if Mikel Arteta was shown the door, SunSport understands the South American would be willing to consider any other ambitious and serious Prem outfit.

A close friend said: “Mauricio has never hidden his belief that he feels happier in the Premier League than anywhere else.

“He loves it in England and he also knows he is admired here for what he has done in the past.”

At this stage, there are no obvious vacancies and Pochettino will regroup and wait for the situation to change, confident that when a situation emerges he will be top of any managerial wishlist.

Pochettino has previously managed in Spain and been linked with jobs in Italy and Germany.

But England is his preferred option with Pochettino believing his track record of developing talent for the Three Lions will be a further feather in his cap.

Pochettino would also return having taken the “no trophies” monkey off his back after just falling short with those Champions League, Prem title and League Cup near-misses at Tottenham.

PSG were the first “Big Five” champion of last season, clinching Ligue 1 in April and winning by 15 points, while he also won the French Cup in his first season.

The 50-year-old is also aware that leaving PSG is not the end of a manager’s career, with two of his three immediate predecessors - Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti - having subsequently won the Champions League and the third, Unai Emery, going on to lift the Europa League.

Poch also coaxed arguably the best season of Kylian Mbappe’s career out of the Frenchman despite being under pressure to field both Neymar and Lionel Messi in a front trio.