MANCHESTER UNITED target Mauricio Pochettino is being lined up by Athletic Bilbao with the Spanish club set to sack their manager, reports say.
Gaizka Garitano’s position as boss is apparently hanging by a thread after the side’s five losses from their opening eight games.
And with Pochettino still without a club after being sacked by Tottenham a year ago, he is believed to be high on the list of Bilbao’s preferred replacements.
Spanish outlet Marca report that the club have a range of ambitious candidates who they are keeping in mind.
Along with former Spurs manager Poch, it also includes Barcelona’s ex head coach Ernesto Valverde and Valencia’s previous man-in-charge Marcelino.
Pochettino, 48, has been linked to multiple clubs since leaving England – including, at one stage, Newcastle.
But recently the Argentine has reportedly been close to joining Manchester United amid intense speculation on the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
A confident win against Everton on the weekend appears to have temporarily eased pressure on the United boss but inconsistent form throughout his time in charge means rumours are never far away.
Old Trafford chiefs are believed to rate Pochettino highly after his impressive stay in England.
He took over Southampton in January 2013 and in his first full season in charge transformed the playing style and led the club to an eighth-placed finish.
This was enough to catch the eye of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who brought him in during the summer of 2014.
Along with developing stars like Harry Kane and Dele Alli, Pochettino brought regular top four finishes to the club.
He also dragged Spurs into half-hearted title challenges before they fell short against Leicester in 2016 and Chelsea in 2017.
His biggest achievement was leading Tottenham to their first Champions League final in 2019 where they lost out to Liverpool.
On the way, the club were involved in extraordinary games against Manchester City and Ajax that will live long in fans’ memories.
Football fans had seen little of Pochettino since he lost his Tottenham job – before he popped up on Sky’s Monday Night Football last week.
