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Real Madrid to offer Mauricio Pochettino Tottenham exit after making him their prime target
Los Blancos sacked Julen Lopetegui and want the Spurs chief to replace him after Antonio Conte's chances were hit by player power
REAL MADRID want Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager by the end of next month.
Spanish player power stopped former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte getting the job after Real finally sacked Julen Lopetegui.
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Santiago Solari has been named interim boss but the La Liga giants will target Spurs chief Poch — who admitted he is at his lowest point with the London club.
Representatives from the Bernabeu met with people close to Pochettino in London last week and gave promising reports to chairman Florentino Perez.
Poch, 46, reiterated his commitment to Spurs last night but their chairman Daniel Levy must now resist Real’s charms again.
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos gave the view of the dressing room in Spain yesterday as Conte was ruled out as manager.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his sympathies for former team mate Julen Lopetegui following his sacking at Real Madrid
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The Italian is desperate for a major job after being sacked by Chelsea at the end of last season.
But his style and man-management were not looked upon favourably by Madrid players.
Eden Hazard, who fell out with Conte at Stamford Bridge, is a major target for Real and appointing Conte would have ended hopes of a £100million-plus deal.
Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s second-string side, are managed by Solari — a former Real player who played alongside Pochettino for Argentina.
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Poch has resisted Real’s advances before. But with the farce of Tottenham’s new £850m stadium delays, the lack of transfer activity and burning question of Spurs’ ambitions, he must be seriously pondering his future.
And Real will have been encouraged by his comments ahead of last night’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.
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Poch said: “My feeling is the worst I’ve had in the five years I’ve been here.
“I’m disappointed we’re still waiting for the new stadium when the expectation was to be there at the start of the season.
“Many things happened in the summer that put me not in my best mood.”
Lopetegui’s horror four-month reign ended after Sunday’s 5-1 defeat to rivals Barcelona — a fifth loss in six games.
Real sit NINTH in La Liga after their worst start since 2001-02.
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