Who is the favourite to replace Pochettino at PSG?
Having secured the signature of Kylian Mbappé, PSG have now turned their attention to a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.
Part one of Paris Saint-Germain’s grand strategy fell neatly into place on Saturday when Kylian Mbappé accepted a three-year deal to remain at the Parc des Princes, bringing about an end to months of speculation about the France forward’s own plans and quashing Real Madrid’s hopes of bringing the 23-year-old to the Bernabéu. Mbappé secured a bumper pay day when he agreed to a new deal, one that has provoked the ire of Spanish football and will also lead to an overhaul of the PSG squad this summer, with Ángel di María among the stars set to depart Paris. What remains unclear at this stage is who will be in charge at the club to oversee arrivals and departures and try and find the formula to bring the best out of the Mbappé-Messi-Neymar triumvirate, which sparked only occasionally during the 2021-22 campaign. PSG had hoped to lure Zinedine Zidane, an avowed fan of arch-rivals Marseille, but he has his eye on the France job should Didier Deschamps decide to call it a day after the World Cup.
Pochettino set to leave Paris
Sporting director Leonardo has been shown the door, with Former Lille and Celta sporting director Luis Campos in the frame to take over, but the bigger question is who will manage the side. PSG have been linked with several names, some of them more accessible than others, including former Germany boss Joachim Löw, current Belgium schemer Roberto Martínez, club legend Thiago Motta, Nice boss Christophe Galtier and Tottenham coach Antonio Conte. What does seem clear is that his predecessor at the Premier League side, Mauricio Pochettino, will not be around when the 2022-23 campaign kicks off.
Amorim emerges as PSG preference
On Monday a fresh name emerged as the favourite to replace Pochettino: According to both Foot-Mercato and Le Parisien, Sporting Lisbon coach Rúben Amorim has moved to the top of the list after Zidane declined the opportunity. The appointment of the 37-year-old has been requested by Campos and backed by Antero Henrique, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s right hand man who previously served as Sporting director and who played an instrumental part in persuading Mbappé to stay at the Parc des Princes.
However, Amorim will not come cheap. The Sporting boss, who led his side to the title last season and has won the Portuguese League Cup in the each of his two seasons at the José Alvalade, has a release clause of €30 million in his contract in Lisbon.