Mauricio Pochettino suddenly in pole position to be Tottenham’s next manager as odds slashed
Mauricio Pochettino has emerged from nowhere to become the new favourite to take over as Tottenham manager.
The Argentine has been away from the Premier League since he left Chelsea by mutual consent in 2024, and is currently in charge of the USA’s national team.
Football Insider revealed last weekend that Thomas Frank needs immediate results at Tottenham if he is to avoid the sack, with last week’s FA Cup tie against Aston Villa and the upcoming clash with West Ham set to decide his fate.
The Lilywhites have already lost the opening game of that two-game spell, and the walls appear to be closing in on the Dane as pressure surrounding his position continues to build.
Mauricio Pochettino sees odds slashed for Tottenham return
Xabi Alonso became the favourite for the Tottenham job earlier this week after he unceremoniously left Real Madrid on Monday.
The likes of Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva and Enzo Maresca have also been heavily linked with the job, as speculation continues to swirl as to who could replace Frank if the board run out of patience with him.
However, Alonso’s stay as the leading candidate for the job has been short-lived, with Pochettino suddenly emerging on Thursday as the new favourite to step back into the dugout in North London.
One major bookmaker has slashed the 53-year-old’s odds to take over at Tottenham down to 4/1, and that has seen him match Alonso at the top of the current reckoning.
Glasner, Silva, Maresca and Ruben Amorim all follow behind, but Pochettino’s rise through the rankings has quickly seen him take pole position.
Frank’s struggles have been consistent in recent weeks, and if things do not quickly improve for him, then a sensational return for Pochettino appears to be firmly on the cards.
When could Pochettino re-join Spurs?
Football Insider recently revealed that Tottenham would be open to employing an interim manager if they decide to sack Frank in the coming weeks, and they would likely need one if they were to make a move for their former boss.
Pochettino is under contract with the American national team until September, and it is highly unlikely that he will be prepared to step away from that job prior to this summer’s World Cup, especially since his team are joint-hosts of the tournament.
However, once that competition has been and gone, it would be a huge surprise if he wasn’t open to returning to England to take back his old job.
He spent over five years at the helm of the Lilywhites earlier in his managerial career, and famously led them to their first ever Champions League final in 2019.
His reign provided one of the biggest ‘what if’ periods in the club’s history, and that temptation to finish what he previously started could be a driving force behind a potential return.