Pochettino says Tottenham links are ‘not realistic’ after USMNT loss to Turkey

Mauricio Pochettino pushed back against suggestions he is a candidate to take over the newly-vacant Tottenham Hotspur managerial position, telling reporters on Saturday that it was “not realistic” for him to leave his current role as US men’s national team manager.

Pochettino had been considered a possible candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked by Spurs on Friday despite him leading the club to Europa League glory – the club’s first trophy in 17 years. However, Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League, their lowest position since 1977. The Guardian understands that Brentford’s Thomas Frank is the No 1 target for Spurs. He has a £10m release clause in his contract and would be open to an official approach.

Pochettino enjoyed a successful run at Spurs from 2014 to 2019, challenging for the Premier League title in 2016 and advancing to the Champions League final in his last season. He was let go because of Tottenham’s league performance – the club were 14th at the time.

“After I left [Tottenham] in 2019, every time [the manager position] is free … my name appeared on the list,” said Pochettino following USA’s 2-1 loss to Turkey in a friendly on Saturday afternoon. “If you have seen the rumours, I think we are 100 coaches on the list of the club. Don’t be worried about that. If something happens, we for sure will see. But we cannot talk about this type of thing because I think today it’s not real. I think it’s not realistic. And look – where I am, where we are? The answer is so clear, no?”

Spurs have met with intermediaries to discuss a move for Frank, who has impressed with his stellar work at Brentford. The Dane took the reins in west London in October 2018 when they were in the Championship and got them promoted via the playoffs in 2020-21. He has established them in the top flight; they finished this past season 10th with 56 points.

It helps Frank’s cause in regards to getting the Spurs job that the club’s technical director, Johan Lange, is also Danish and has a good relationship with the 51-year-old from their time working together at Danish club Lyngby BK.

Pochettino took over the US national team at the end of 2024 and has overseen a mixed bag of performances in his first nine months. Saturday’s friendly was seen mostly as a way to regain the team’s footing after a pair of far below-par outings in March’s Nations League finals, with the team losing to Panama and Canada and looking generally listless throughout.

Even though they lost, the US played with far more verve against Turkey than they had in March. Pochettino has called in a younger and less-experienced squad for this summer’s games, with several of the team’s first-choice stars out – either by choice, for health reasons, for personal reasons, or due to their club’s participation in the Club World Cup. Jack McGlynn, one of those newcomers, opened the scoring on Saturday with a signature curling effort from outside the box. Later that half, two defensive miscues in about three minutes doomed the Americans, with both resulting in goals.