PSG 'confident' Mauricio Pochettino will stay amid Spurs interest

Paris Saint-Germain has responded to speculation that Mauricio Pochettino has asked to leave the club amid interest from former side Tottenham by expressing confidence that the Argentine coach will stay at Parc des Princes next season.

Pochettino spent two years at PSG as a player in the early 2000s and was appointed coach in January just over a year after he was sacked by Spurs in November 2019, six months on from guiding the north London club to their first ever Champions League final.

But his first few months in Paris haven’t gone to plan. PSG were able to lift the Coupe de France in May but failed to win Ligue 1 for only the second time since 2012 and were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage.

It had been reported that Pochettino had asked to leave PSG as interest from Tottenham and Real Madrid grew – the latter have since re-appointed Carlo Ancelotti as new coach.

However, PSG have hit back and don’t want to lose Pochettino without a fight.

The Daily Telegraph reports they have triggered an extension clause in his contract to tie him to the club for an extra year until the summer of 2023 and deny that the retired centre-back ever told club president Nasser Al Khelaifi that he wishes to leave.

PSG are described as ‘bemused’ by claims that Pochettino has requested to go and have even released an in-house interview with the coach in which he explains his future plans in Paris.

Spurs are on the lookout for a new boss after dismissing Jose Mourinho in April. Ryan Mason took temporary control of the team for the final weeks of the season. Aside from Pochettino, other names that have been linked include Antonio Conte, Roberto Martinez and Brighton's Graham Potter.

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