The future of Mauricio Pochettino is directly linked to that of Philippe Coutinho – on loan at Bayern Munich from Barcelona – claim reports.
The Brazilian international is on a season-long loan deal at the Bundesliga club and Pochettino – who managed him temporarily during a loan spell at Espanyol in the 2011-12 campaign – is a fan.
That is according to El Mundo Deportivo, who cite German publication Sport Bild, who say the Argentine wants Coutinho and made several attempts to buy him when he was at Tottenham.
Pochettino was surprisingly dismissed as Spurs boss on Tuesday – six months after leading them to the Champions League final – and is now being linked to the permanent post at Bayern next summer.
Bayern have an option to buy the Brazil international for €120m at the end of the campaign but even if they do not take up this option, the Blaugrana will look to sell the playmaker elsewhere next summer – according to a report Diario AS last month.
The Brazilian has made a quick start to life in the Bundesliga after joining the German champions late in the summer transfer window but will reportedly not return to the Camp Nou regardless of this season.
Coutinho has netted two goals and provided three assists in 11 games for the Bavarian club, while the recent report stresses the good relations between the two clubs which could help smooth a permanent move in 2020.
However, should the move not come to fruition it is claimed that Barcelona are confident they will be able to sell the player on a permanent basis to an English club.
