Newscastle eye Mauricio Pochettino for 2020-21 take over
Ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is Newcastle’s prospective new owners’ number one choice to take charge at St James’ Park from next season.
Former boss Rafael Benitez is understood to be a backup option if a deal for Pochettino goes through, but the new owners, a Saudi-backed consortium, is willing to pay Pochettino as much as £19m annually.
Pochettino, out of work since last November, is understood to be keen on a return to the Premier League.
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Newcastle’s prospective owners are impressed by the work that Pochettino did at Tottenham, taking them to the 2019 Champions League final after a five-year rebuild of the North London club.
Former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez is also reported to be in the mix but his £12m-a-year after tax contract in China means that they’ll have to fork out even more than the proposed figure for Pochettino, who would only earn roughly £10m after-tax annually.
Five months after leaving Spurs, Pochettino and his backroom staff remain on gardening leave, with the Argentinian reportedly being paid his £8.5m a year (gross) wages.
