Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Tottenham since coming in as the manager in 2014. He has taken a club on the fringes of top four qualification into a potential title challenger. Yet, Pochettino has spent very little money in the process and has been able to promote a number of youngsters from within the ranks. His style of football is intense and demanding on the players. Pochettino is a constant presence on the sidelines urging his players to follow the tactical instructions.
All these aspects are very similar to what Diego Simeone has achieved with Atletico Madrid since becoming the manager of the Spanish outfit in 2011. After almost 5 years with the Spanish club, it seems that the Argentine is keen on embarking on a new challenge. He recently performed the strange move of reducing the length of his contract. He has a contract with Atletico only until the summer of 2018, but rumours have been intense that he may be set to leave the Spanish outfit at the end of the campaign.
As Pochettino is now seen as a younger version of Simeone, it is no surprise that Atletico Madrid are keen on taking the 44-year-old to the Vicente Calderon and reports from the Daily Mirror has claimed that Pochettino is being increasingly seen by the Atletico Madrid officials as the ideal candidate to replace Simeone should the manager step down at the end of the campaign.
Simeone and Atletico Madrid are going through a campaign which is similar to what Pep Guardiola and Barcelona experienced in their final season. After four demanding and intense years, Guardiola claimed that he needed a much-deserved break in order to find his desire in the game. Simeone could be set for a break from the game. However, he has also been linked with several clubs in the Premier League, who would be able to offer him a new challenge just like Bayern Munich provided Guardiola with something new in 2013.
Pochettino does have a contract with Spurs, signed only recently, until the summer of 2021. The club are unlikely to entertain any talks about the manager being prized away at this stage. Apart from being on the verge of a regular title contender, Tottenham are also in the process of building a brand-new 60,000 seater stadium at an extravagant cost of £600 million. This enormous investment means that the club are unlikely to be strong when it comes to the top end of the transfer market. Spurs may very well look at value for money purchases are promoting talent from within. Pochettino is a manager perfectly suited to this aspect.
However, the exits of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric in the past have shown that Spurs are not immune to pressure from an aspiring job. Regular Champions League football and a return to Spanish football are enticing aspects for Pochettino.
