German legend Jurgen Klinsmann is reportedly keen on becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager if Mauricio Pochettino decides to leave.
Jurgen Klinsmann wants to take over from Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur if he decides to leave, according to the Daily Mail.
The German is a Spurs legend and he has previously expressed his amazement at Pochettino’s ability to find talent and then take it to the next level – he used the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli as examples.
Not only that, when Pochettino first took charge of Spurs in 2014, Klinsmann urged the club to give him time so he can put his ‘stamp’ on the club, which they clearly have done even though it seems like they are at a crossroads now.
But now that Klinsmann is potentially being touted as Pochettino’s successor, his comments on the Argentine make interesting reading now.
“I think he’s a tremendous, talented coach,” Klinsmann told The Guardian in 2014. “He’s shown that already. He’s got a smart brain, we’ll see over time how things work out.
“If you want to evaluate the work of a coach then you can only do that over a longer period of time. In order for Mauricio to put his stamp on Spurs he needs time, he also needs a couple of transfer windows over time to build the team he has in mind, to put the puzzle together that he envisions.”
Before Spurs’ Champions League final: “He also has an unbelievable eye for the talent of a player,” Klinsmann told CH4. “So when he sees that talent, specifically in a Harry Kane, or a Dele Alli or a Dier, he knows when he looks at them, they are maybe raw at 18, 19 or 20 years of age, but he knows where they could end up.”
It’s interesting that Klinsmann used the likes of Dele Alli and Eric Dier as examples because whilst they have thrived under Pochettino, their form for these past 12 or even 18 months has gone out of the window.
Alli has seemingly lost that goalscoring touch he once had, whilst Dier now struggles to make the matchday squad, even though he was part of that team that got humiliated against Colchester.
Added with that, Klinsmann was proved right that if Pochettino is given time then he can produce the goods at the club. Spurs went from a team that would finish outside of the top-six to one that now constantly finishes in the top-four. Not forgetting their European final last season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
