Alli: Pochettino would be a massive loss
The alarm bells were ringing at Tottenham last Thursday when Zinedine Zidane announced he was stepping down as Real Madrid manager.
The Spanish giants have made Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino their No. 1 target to take over from Zidane, and the Argentine ticks all the right boxes for the hierarchy at the 13- time European Champions.
Pochettino previously managed in Spain at Espanyol and has impressed during his spell sin England at Southampton and at Spurs for the last four seasons.
Under Pochettino, the London club have finished in the top three in each of the last three campaigns. Only Manchester City have collected more Premier League points in that time.
But it’s his coaching skills which have been most impressive.
Pochettino has never been afraid to give youth a chance, and he hasn’t spent millions like other clubs in the Big Six.
On top of that Tottenham have supplied the most players to England’s World Cup squad, with five.
One of those is Dele Alli, who has developed into one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders working with Pochettino.
He would be reluctant to see his boss leave North London after guiding his development from being a League One player at MK Dons to now.
“You can see what he’s done at Tottenham,” says Alli.
“He’s been a massive part of the progression that has been made. For me personally, he’s a big reason why I signed.
“He’s a manager that isn’t afraid to play youngsters. He’s not going to hang you out to dry. But he’ll play you when the time’s right.
“He’s not scared to put all his trust in you. As a young player, having a manager who trusts you, sometimes more than you trust yourself, is a real confidence booster.
“And you can see with players like me, Harry Winks, Kyle Walker-Peters, all the young English players he’s worked with, he’s really brought the best out of us. Even Harry Kane and Eric Dier.
“Everyone puts their trust in him. He’s a good person and he’s a pleasure to work with.”