An Argentinian manager who has never won a trophy in English football is now the betting favourite to be appointed both the next Manchester United and Manchester City manager.

Mauricio Pochettino has been out of work for 11 months, during which time he has seen his successor, Jose Mourinho, change Tottenham Hotspur considerably during a period dominated by the global Coronavirus pandemic. Flair players such as Dele Alli have been sacrifice by the pragmatic Portuguese, and tougher-tackling midfielders such as summer signing Pierre-Emile Hojberg brought to the fore. This hasn’t been more or less successful, but it has been different.

Pochettino has watched from the sidelines for the length of a full season, and must be itching to return to the fold, if not the Premier League then football in general. He will be refreshed by an extended break, the relief that can only be felt when the immense pressure of a 5-year project fades away replaced by frustration at inactivity, the gnawing knowledge that any longer outside the game and you can lose touch.

Pochettino knew when he left the Spurs job by way of Daniel Levy’s dramatic November 2019 decision, that his ideal role was up the M6 motorway. It seemed highly likely that Manchester United were the model club for Pochettino. His teams’ playing styles mirror the footballing ethos of a club know for their ‘youth, courage and success’.