Tottenham learn cost of sensational Mauricio Pochettino reunion

Tottenham Hotspur are unlikely to pull off a sensational reunion with beloved former boss Mauricio Pochettino any time soon due to the expected cost involved.

Pochettino, the only Spurs manager to have delivered a top two league finish in the last 62 years, was sacked in 2019, mere months after taking the club to their first and only European Cup final.

But he insists there is no bad blood with chairman Daniel Levy and reiterated a desire earlier this month to one day return to Tottenham again.

Given the current pressure on incumbent Ange Postecoglou, on course to oversee Spurs' worst league finish in 20 years – albeit with a squad ravaged by injuries - Pochettino's comments served to spark excitement in the fanbase about what could potentially be.

However, Pochettino's contract with U.S. Soccer as United States head coach runs until after the 2026 World Cup, another 15 months from now, and is built solid.

BBC Sport writes that the compensation to break it would be "one of the biggest" such fees in the history of the sport. While his annual salary is reported to be around $6m (£4.6m), any suitor wishing to poach the Argentine before the World Cup would have to pay somewhere in the region of $25m, an amount pushing towards the enormous £21m that Chelsea paid Brighton & Hove Albion for Graham Potter in 2022. Bayern Munich paid RB Leipzig similar for Julian Nagelsmann in 2021.

In the event that Spurs opt against giving Postecoglou the benefit of the doubt for this season's shortcomings, the club is rumoured to have identified Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola and Fulham's Marco Silva as preferred potential replacements.

If they are serious about reuniting with Pochettino in 2026, it's at least plausible that Postecoglou could remain in charge for another season – also serving as his own audition for a new contract.

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