Sources: Mauricio Pochettino tells Daniel Levy he wants to be next Tottenham manager
Tottenham have been in contact with Mauricio Pochettino as they plot a managerial change, sources have told Football Insider.
Antonio Conte is expected to leave his role at the end of the season and could even go quicker if there is a dire run of results in the meantime.
Tottenham are already assessing the market for a successor to Conte, whose contract expires in the summer and talks over an extension have stalled.
There is a growing appetite for change behind the scenes at Spurs and sources have told Football Insider that the club hierarchy have already spoken to Pochettino, 51, about the manager's position.
The former Tottenham boss, who is an Anglophile and has a home in north London, has been without a managerial post since he was sacked last summer after 18 months.
Pochettino has a good relationship with Spurs' all-powerful chairman Daniel Levy and has made it clear he would jump at the chance to take charge for a second time at the club where he spent five-and-a-half years before his dismissal in November 2019.
There is also interest in him from other top clubs in England and abroad, including Chelsea were they to dispense with Graham Potter.
Pochettino held talks with Aston Villa during their recent manager search, as first revealed by Football Insider, but pulled out of the running as he felt the club does not have the squad to implement his high-energy playing style.
The informal discussions with Spurs have not advanced beyond the exploratory at this point, but it firmly indicates that the club are looking at alternatives to Conte.
He is believed to be keen on a return to Italy this summer after a difficult campaign personally and one in which Spurs have also stagnated on the pitch.