Mauricio Pochettino: PSG boss needs to end silence amid Tottenham speculation, says Jonathan Johnson
Last week it emerged Mauricio Pochettino was in talks with Spurs over a sensational return to the club; Pochettino won the French Super Cup and Coupe de France with PSG after taking over at the Parc des Princes in January but failed to deliver the Ligue 1 title
Thursday 3 June 2021 12:33, UK
Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino needs to speak publicly about his future, says French football expert Jonathan Johnson.
Last week it emerged Pochettino was in talks with Tottenham over a sensational return to the club after less than six months in charge of PSG, but Spurs are now in discussions with former Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.
Pochettino remains a popular figure at Spurs having spent more than five years in charge, but he has a year left on his current PSG deal plus an option for another, while Conte is available after leaving Inter Milan last month.
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With Conte now appearing the favourite to take over in north London, Johnson believes Pochettino must make his future plans official.
"Obviously there's been a lot of speculation regarding Pochettino and a potential return to Spurs and then we've had this news about Conte edging closer to Tottenham over the past couple of hours," Johnson told Sky Sports News.
"It's something now I think definitely needs to be cleared up either by Pochettino or by PSG officially.
"PSG have at least had sporting director Leonardo coming out in the press and explaining that Pochettino has years left on his contract and PSG have been happy with what he's been doing so far, but Pochettino has been silent so far.
"I think the time has arrived now where he needs to come out publicly and say if he is unhappy with PSG or if it's something that's been invented with Spurs hopeful of rekindling that relationship.
"It does seem for all the world like Conte is going to take that spot with Tottenham and Pochettino will be with PSG, so I think the time has come for him to speak out publicly about it."
'Conte could convince Kane to stay'
Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara on Sky Sports News:
"He's a proven winner, he won the Premier League, he's won Serie A. I love the way he plays. His style. He plays 3-5-2, it's attacking and gets the best out of strikers.
"He's passionate. I love him as a manager, I think he's absolutely brilliant. If Spurs can get this one over the line it's a massive coup.
"I'd even go as far to say as he could convince Harry Kane to stay. Kane will love the way he plays.
"It shows real ambition from the club. I would give [Conte] whatever he wants."
'I live my job in an intense way'
In a rare interview last year, Conte discussed his title-winning season at Chelsea with Sky Sports News, where he spoke about the phasing out of then captain John Terry and his Stamford Bridge celebrations in the 4-0 win over Manchester United.
"I live my job in an intense way," Conte said. "Sometimes I show my passion and I want to share my happiness with the fans. I had an amazing relationship with Chelsea fans.
"That game was important for us because when you win 4-0 against a top team it's a boost because we understood very well that we could fight to win the league.
"This game gave us confidence and belief in ourselves and we created a fantastic relationship with our fans."
Chelsea won the title by seven points in 2016-17 - Spurs finished second that season under Pochettino.
