da cassino： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
da esoccer bet： Mauricio Pochettino is seemingly ready to step back into football management.
Sacked by Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago, he has told Fox Sports Argentina, via The Guardian, that he does not plan on taking a lengthy sabbatical from the game.
He said: “There are a lot of clubs and attractive projects for me to take on.
“It is my intention to return to manage in Europe. But now I need to be calm for a few days and see what happens.”
He added: “My first decision was to come back to Argentina, return to my home and see family and friends. My best decision was to come to Argentina to switch off for 10 days.
“But I expect to return to Europe to make decisions on my future. At my age I don’t need a lot of time to recover. I am open to listen to projects put before me.”
Pochettino is 47 and is seemingly raring to go, despite immersing himself in the job at Spurs for five-and-a-half-years.
But is there a job available in the Premier League that would appeal to him? One has to imagine that the answer right now is no.
He has been continually linked with Manchester United and reports have suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the current manager, could be sacked soon. United are currently ninth with 18 points, eight off fourth-placed Chelsea.
They have a number of talented individuals – the likes of Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire could potentially thrive under new management – but the prospect of Champions League qualification seems a long way off already. They certainly aren’t going to win the league and one imagines that it would be a rebuilding job, with Pochettino having to move players out, bring players in and then mould a cohesive unit.
Then you have the Ed Woodward problem; he is not a shrewd negotiator and some of his signings have been disastrous, particularly the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Angel Di Maria.
Arsenal have an opening but Pochettino would need to sully his legendary legacy at Spurs to take that job on. He may be willing to do so – this isn’t a Sol Campbell situation, where he walked out on his boyhood club, but it would still sting – but then he would have to assess the challenges there.
The Gunners have a number of good young players but their defence, which still relies on Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz, is a mess and they remain saddled with Mesut Ozil, the albatross around their necks.
Again, they face a battle to finish in the top four as they are only one point ahead of United.
Liverpool, of course, are surely happy with Jurgen Klopp, who has yet to lose in the top-flight this term. Manchester City are likely to persist with Pep Guardiola at least until the end of the season given there remains the prospect of them winning the Champions League. Leicester City are perhaps the most exciting team in the top-flight not from Merseyside but Brendan Rodgers is doing a terrific job and Frank Lampard has yet to get his feet under the table at Chelsea.
What else is there? Well, in Europe, Bayern Munich have not yet found a full-time replacement to Niko Kovac and that is as close to a guarantee of trophies as one can find, given their record of winning the Bundesliga in each of the last six seasons. They may be fourth now, but they are still only four points off leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.
Real Madrid have long been touted as potential suitors and they have only lost once in La Liga this term and are level-pegging with Barcelona at the top of the tree.
Why, then, would Pochettino rush into a medium-level job in England when he could wait to take on a much bigger, much more successful role on the continent?
If United and Arsenal are his only options on these shores, he should bide his time and simply wait for a better offer.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have reacted to a January transfer report.