5 players who could thrive under Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain
New Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is famous for improving his players and getting the best out of youngsters.
It would be fair to say that end of Mauricio Pochettino's tenure at Tottenham Hotspur happened in anticlimactic fashion. After all, the Argentine had guided Spurs to the final of the UEFA Champions League in the season prior to the one in which he was sacked.
Pochettino brought the best out of players like Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Delli Alli and Christian Eriksen and the all-action Tottenham Hotspur were a treat to watch under him until that very last season he spent in North London.
Mauricio Pochettino is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in Europe right now and was heavily linked with Manchester United for a while. A big portion of the United fanbase wanted him to take over at the helm before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was eventually appointed.
That Pochettino has the ability to improve Paris Saint-Germain is clear after what he did at what was a pretty low-profile Spurs side when he initially took charge. And here, we take a look at five players who could thrive under Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain.
5 players who could thrive under Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain
#5 Marquinhos
At Tottenham Hotspur, Pochettino had left-footed Jan Vertonghen and right-footed Toby Alderweireld playing as the centre-backs. Though Poch likes building from the back, he also tasks his centre-backs with playing long balls over the top of the opposition's defence, on occasion, for his forwards to get after.
Toby Alderweireld used to do this often for Spurs and in Marquinhos, Pochettino has a player who is quite capable of playing some exceptional floated through balls. Marquinhos' passing range is pretty impressive and he has played as a central midfielder several times in the past.
In Pochettino, Marquinhos will have a manager who knows to get the best out of his abilities and the Brazilian is certain to thrive under Pochettino's tutelage.
#4 Idrissa 'Gana' Gueye
Pochettino is likely to end up using a double pivot in midfield at Paris Saint-Germain similar to the one he had at Tottenham Hotspur. Mauricio Pochettino likes one of his deep-lying midfielders to act as a destroyer of sorts while the other one is afforded the freedom to foray forward.
This is the job that Victor Wanyama used to do at Spurs alongside Mousa Dembele. In Idrissa Gueye, Poch has an aggressive defensive midfielder who is adept at winning the ball back and kickstarting the transition from defence to attack.
Nemanja Matic had fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United during Mourinho's final days. But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew how to use him better and the Serb played a crucial role for the Red Devils last season despite being in his 30s and has delivered whenever called upon this term as well.
Mauricio Pochettino could do a similar job at Paris Saint-Germain with Gueye.