Pochettino ‘tells’ Levy he ‘wants’ to come back to Spurs with Conte ‘expected’ to leave this summer

Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly eager to return to Tottenham Hotspur with Antonio Conte likely to leave at the end of the season.

Conte’s contract expires at the end of 2022-23 and it seems unlikely that he will agree fresh terms with the Premier League club.

There are a lot of rumours about who will take over from the Italian head coach, with former Tottenham boss Pochettino among those linked with the job.

Ex-Spain and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is another believed to be in the running.

A return for Pochettino is something that many Tottenham fans want to see, but there are plenty of supporters completely against this.

The Londoners enjoyed their best spell in decades under the Argentine – who was sacked by Daniel Levy in November 2019, six months after he led Spurs to the Champions League final.

Pochettino became Paris Saint-Germain manager in January 2021, losing his job after 18 months in charge.

A shock return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could be on the cards, however, with Football Insider claiming Pochettino is in discussions with Levy over the managerial role.

With Conte ‘expected’ to leave in the summer, Spurs are ‘assessing’ potential replacements.

Despite being sacked by Levy, it is said that Pochettino has a ‘good relationship’ with the club’s chairman and would ‘jump at the chance’ to take on his former job.

Talks have been ‘informal’ and ‘have not advanced beyond the exploratory’ but Spurs are now on the lookout for the ideal manager to replace Conte.

The report adds that Conte would be willing to return to management in Italy after a ‘difficult’ season in north London.

Meanwhile, former Spurs right-back Alan Hutton is confident Conte will move on at the end of the current campaign.

“But I’m led to believe with the way he is talking and everything that is coming out, it seems like he could go.

“For a guy like that to run a contract down, it does not normally happen and it is a bit strange.

“All the things that he is saying, that he is not happy with certain things. He is a winner but he needs the players to win alongside him.

“It seems a strange situation so I have got a feeling that he will leave at the end of the season. If not, why would he not just tie up his contract now and move forward?”