Monday’s surprising news that Nottingham Forest have sacked manager Nuno Espirito Santo carries even more interest for United States men’s national team fans.
USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino has been mentioned by Sky Sports as a person of interest as Forest look to fill their coaching vacuum ahead of this month’s Europa League action.
BREAKING —Nuno Espirito Santo fired by Nottingham Forest
Sky Sports says that Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and advisotr Edu Gaspar are admirers of Pochettino, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Fulham’s Marco Silva, and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
Ironically, Espirito Santo had a too-short stint as Tottenham Hotspur boss a couple of years after Jose Mourinho replaced Pochettino at that North London hot seat.
Could Mauricio Pochettino leave the USMNT before the World Cup?
Pochettino has come under fire recently as the USMNT have stumbled in recent months with a home World Cup set for next summer. It’s unlikely that Pochettino would be removed from the position given the financials of his contract, but it would be intriguing how the federation would react to an approach from a Premier League club.
Pochettino raised eyebrows in March when he mentioned his hope that he could one day return to Tottenham Hotspur, and the Yanks soon lost to Panama in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals and then to Canada in the third-place game.
The Yanks are coming off another substandard performance against a good opponent in South Korea, and Pochettino has been criticized in some corners for his squad selection. And there have been rumors of discontent with captain Christian Pulisic for how the AC Milan star handled his decision not to play for Pochettino this summer.