Former Spurs Ace Claims Man Utd Have Had Target in Mind for a 'Long Time' Amid Mourinho Quit Rumours

Former Tottenham midfielder, turned TV pundit Jermaine Jenas says Manchester United have had their eye on Mauricio Pochettino for a 'long time' and believes he would jump at the chance to replace Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.

Jenas' claims come amid rumours that Mourinho is considering quitting United after the club failed to secure a number of top transfer targets this summer, and that he has fallen out with star midfielder Paul Pogba.

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Speaking to the Daily Star, Jenas said: “I think they’ve been after him for a long time to be honest with you. It’d be a huge test. I think deep down that’s the one Pochettino wants.

“There’s only United and Real Madrid that I think really take his fancy.

“When you think about it, Jurgen Klopp’s not going anywhere at Liverpool. Chelsea change their manager every two minutes but the Tottenham and Chelsea thing would ruin everything he’s done at Spurs.

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“He already said he won’t go to Barcelona because of the links with Espanyol. I know you’ve got Bayern, PSG and so on but I think he’d prefer to stay in the Premier League or go back to La Liga.

"If Mourinho did leave United, I wouldn't be surprised if they went in hard for Pochettino, and, given what’s happened at Spurs, I’d be surprised if he stayed.”

The latter refers to the ongoing 'crisis' at Tottenham, whereby they became the only team in the history of the summer transfer window not to sign a single player in a summer window, which was then exacerbated by delays to the reopening of the White Hart Lane stadium.  

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It is worth noting, however, that Pochettino has publicly stated that he intends to stay and fight for Spurs, and that he recently signed a five year contract extension with the London club - so any attempt to prize him away from a Premier League rival would take something extraordinary.