OPINION
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to face the biggest decision of his managerial career in the coming months.
The coveted Argentine is likely to be the subject of approaches from Manchester United and Real Madrid in the summer, both of whom have reportedly placed him at the top of their wanted lists.
While some believe that Pochettino should leave Spurs behind and move on to a ‘bigger’ club, there are multiple arguments to be had for him remaining at Spurs.
Pochettino has assembled a young, hungry, talented squad who are on the verge of big things at Tottenham, and he would be giving that up to join either United or Real, both of whom are not in the best shape at the moment.
Spurs are also just about to move into a state-of-the-art new stadium, a development which could see them cement their place among Europe’s elite clubs if things go to plan in their first few seasons there.
However, one of the most telling accounts of just why Pochettino should remain at Spurs has come from Wolves chairman Jeff Shi, who spoke about his admiration for the club in an interview with The Times.
“I think Tottenham is the benchmark,” he said. “Of course we are not the same, but in my understanding and knowledge of the last 10 years, Daniel [Levy] did a very good job.
“I think he is the best CEO in the Premier League so far and without much funding has built a very strong team, very good academy, very good young players, and kept his club working very highly and strong. We can learn from them.”
Shi confirms in the same interview that Wolves are aiming to win the Premier League in the near future, with owners Fosun International having high hopes for the Molineux club.
The fact that such a highly-ambitious new player in the Premier League look up to Spurs in such a way really illustrates the reasons why Pochettino would be foolish to move on from the club.
Him and Levy have built a club which is stable financially, performing brilliantly on the pitch, and is secure in its future with a world-class academy set-up.
Pochettino may find riches at Real or United, but the projects there will be far less developed, and more importantly, far less secure.
The grass is not always greener, as they say, and hopefully Shi’s comments can help Pochettino realise that before it is too late.