What’s Next for Mauricio Pochettino?

With Erik ten Hag set to become the new permanent manager of Manchester United this summer, as well as reports of unrest at PSG over the Argentine’s managerial position what does the future hold for Mauricio Pochettino?

In January 2021 Pochettino initially signed an 18-month contract with PSG. This was extended by a year last summer, meaning he's now contracted until June 2023.

In his first half-a-season, Pochettino reached the Champions League semi-finals after he beat Barcelona and Bayern Munich. He also won the first silverware of his managerial career in the form of the Trophée des Champions and Coupe de France. However, he failed to win the league title.

Pochettino has now added Ligue 1 gold to his CV, however, he oversaw his side’s humbling losses in the last-16 of both the Champions League and Coupe de France, while his side were defeated by Lille in the Trophée des Champions. Remember, simply winning the league isn’t deemed sufficient at PSG.

The 50-year-old’s shortcomings at PSG have left his future hanging by a thread, with Tottenham manager Antonio Conte reportedly offering himself to the Parisians, whilst long term target Zinedine Zidane is also without a club.

With the future of Conte still up in the air after several outbursts in his short time at the club, a return to North London could be an option. If Spurs finish in the top four it would certainly strengthen Conte’s position, although, it is very difficult to tell if the Italian is satisfied at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as he seeks more funding to strengthen his squad.

Should Arsenal pip them to the fourth spot, things could open up for the former Spurs boss, as chairman Daniel Levy still likes the Argentine going off the interest last summer. Pochettino has also persistently suggested that he feels that he has unfinished business there and that he would like to make a fairytale return.

In recent months, there has been some unrest at Real Madrid over Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics, with Florentino Perez rumoured to be looking at Pochettino to replace the Italian.

As a former Espanyol player, this is surely nothing more that Pochettino would be able to do than to compete at the highest level against his old club’s bitter rivals in Barcelona.

With current PSG star Kylian Mbappe set to join Los Blancos, a move for Pochettino could be one to look out for, as typically, Real’s board are very hard to please. But, if the Santiago Bernabeu club does make it to the Champions League final, then they can surely have no complaints with the job that Ancelotti has done.

The Argentinian manager could possibly go somewhere like Borussia Dortmund, who are having an awful season under their new boss Marco Rose.

The German side will end the season trophyless and were embarrassed in Europe this season.

Rose’s side have been horrendous defensively and the German has failed to get the best out of the players he had available. Dortmund, however, could stick with the 45-year-old as he is regarded as one of the best in Germany and has had to deal with several issues that are out of his control.

However, if the Bundesliga club gets impatient as they did under Lucien Favre, that could be a destination for Pochettino. The PSG manager would get to work with young players and would most likely be given time due to his status in the game. An opportunity to develop highly talented youngsters with less inflated egos could bring the best out in the 50-year-old.