Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly informed PSG chiefs that he wishes to leave the club amid speculation linking the Argentine with a sensational return to Tottenham Hotspur.
The 49-year-old joined the Parisians just six months ago, taking over from Thomas Tuchel, having spent 14 months out of the game following his exit from north London in November 2019.
However, talks have been held between the Argentine and Spurs over a return to the Premier League side after the sacking of his successor, Jose Mourinho, in April.
PSG moved to tighten their grip on Pochettino by extending his contract by one-year to run until 2023.
Yet, according to French outlet Liberation, Pochettino has told sporting director Leonardo and club president Nasser al-Khelaifi that he wishes to leave the French capital this summer.
Pochettino’s desire to leave PSG has stirred interest among other clubs too, with Real Madrid reportedly interested in the Argentine. Los Blancos have since snapped up Carlo Ancelotti from Everton.
Pochettino has led PSG to two trophies since taking over, the French Super Cup and French Cup.
But PSG finished second in Ligue 1 and were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage by eventual runners up Manchester City.
That included an option to extend it by a further year which PSG have activated. Sporting director Leonardo said: ‘Mauricio Pochettino has two years left on his contract here at PSG and we are very happy with him.’
Pochettino, though, is reportedly unhappy at PSG, with issues behind the scenes central to his discontent.
Extending his contract strengthens PSG’s position in any potential negotiations if they fail to convince Pochettino that his future should be in France as they will now be entitled to a larger sum in compensation.
Spurs have seen a number of potential candidates fall by the wayside in their search for a permanent manager since Jose Mourinho was sacked in April.
Julian Nagelsmann agreed to join Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig and Brendan Rodgers has reiterated his commitment to FA Cup winners Leicester, even after they missed out on the top four on the final day of the season.
Ajax have extended the contract of manager Erik Ten Hag for another year until 2023.
Like Pochettino that does not put Ten Hag totally out of reach, though Dutch sources believe a move to Spurs after adding 12 months to his contract is unlikely.
Pochettino would tick all the boxes for chairman Daniel Levy and technical performance director Steve Hitchen as a crowd-pleasing marquee name who would also develop young players and play attacking football.
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