MAURICIO POCHETTINO is said to be “very close” to sealing his move to Newcastle, according to reports.
The proposed £300million buyout of the club from the Saudi Public Investment fund is nearing completion.
Pochettino is poised to takeover from Bruce at NewcastleCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
French website Le10 Sport say negotiations between ex-Spurs boss Pochettino and Toon chiefs are at a “very advanced” stage.
And they claim it would take something significant – such as the takeover falling through – to stop Poch succeeding Steve Bruce in the St James’ Park hotseat.
The only thing seemingly blocking the path is the Premier League’s priority in getting the season started.
That has meant confirming the takeover has had to be put back – with an announcement expected at the end of next week.
Newcastle have been told they will have to pay £12.5million to land Pochettino now.
Spurs sacked Pochettino in November and paid him a £12.5m compensation package that included a clause not to manage another club for six months.
Newcastle’s potential new owners are ready to pay Poch a whopping £19m-a-year to turn the side into European challengers.
And it looks like landing the ex-Southampton manager would open the floodgates to a host of other arrivals.
One of those is rumoured to be the much sought-after Kalidou Koulibaly.
The giant centre-back is in his sixth season at Napoli and has clocked up a whopping 233 appearances while attracting the interest of Manchester United and Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were said to be in the process of lodging a £70m bid for the Senegal star.
But it remains to be seen whether Koulibaly will actually go for that much, with the transfer market set for a downturn in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tottenham ask sacked Pochettino to take pay cut on severance package due to coronavirus shutdown
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
