Spanish football expert Graham Hunter has revealed that Aston Villa chief Christian Purslow spoke with Todd Boehly about appointing Mauricio Pochettino.
Following the sacking of Steven Gerrard last week, Villa moved swiftly to appoint his successor.
The club announced that former Arsenal boss Unai Emery will take charge from November 1st, but it is thought that Pochettino was also a candidate.
The Telegraph reported that the club were plotting an attempt to land the Argentinian coach, who was also approached by Chelsea earlier in the season.
While reports suggest that the ex-Tottenham boss turned the job down, it is at least clear that he was strongly considered following Hunter’s insight.
Speaking on the For The Love of Paul McGrath podcast, he said: “I got a tip-off very early on that Christian Purslow had gone during the Chelsea game to speak to Todd Boehly and say, ‘how did Pochettino interview, why didn’t you take him, what did you think of him’, and that’s before the Fulham defeat.”
TIF Thoughts on Hunter’s comments…
Would you rather have got Poch over Emery?Yes
No!
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Pochettino has been out of work since July after he was replaced at Paris Saint-Germain.
The 50-year-old did manage to secure the Ligue 1 title in his only full season, but failed to impress in the Champions League, with the Parisians knocked out in the round of 16 after exiting at the semi-final stage the year before.
Nonetheless, having coached 67 times in European competitions, his experience would have been valuable, but given Emery’s accomplishments, fans will perhaps feel that they have struck gold with the Spaniard.
While both were outstanding candidates, the former Villarreal boss is a four-time Europa League winner and will be hellbent on setting the record straight in England following his stint with the Gunners, with his track record and agenda most certainly beneficial to the West Midlanders.