Report: Man United Identifies Pochettino as Mourinho's Eventual Successor
Manchester United only recently handed Jose Mourinho a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2020, by which time the Portuguese wants his team to be seriously challenging for 'everything', but the club is reportedly keeping tabs on Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Pochettino is considered a 'long-term' managerial target at Old Trafford, someone who may in time take over from Mourinho and build the legacy that United have craved since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
There is certainly no suggestion that United have any sort of plan to remove Mourinho, especially not after his aforementioned contract signed just last month. But, at the age of just 45, Pochettino is seen as one of the world's best young managers.
It would therefore seem that when Mourinho eventually does leave Old Trafford several years down the line, United would be keen to pursue Pochettino at that time.
The Argentine, who first arrived in England when he was appointed by Southampton in 2013 and later took over at Spurs in 2014, has been linked with numerous big clubs in recent years.
He recently ruled himself out of at least a couple of jobs, though, stating that he has too close a bond to Tottenham to ever consider managing north London rivals Arsenal. The same is true of Espanyol, where he enjoyed two spells as a player and started as a manager, and Barcelona.
During three full seasons at Tottenham, Pochettino has delivered 5th, 3rd and 2nd place Premier League finishes. His Spurs team is currently fifth 25 games into 2017/18, but were 2-0 victors over Mourinho's United at Wembley on Wednesday night.
