Spanish media reports claim that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has agreed on a preliminary basis to manage Real Madrid, upon a set of conditions – which include a request to the Spanish club’s president Florentino Perez to sign Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, Al-Ahram Online reported.
Salah, who is currently at Liverpool, has hit 27 goals for the Reds since arriving in summer 2017, reaching the milestone in a record number of appearances.
‘Don Balon’, a weekly Spanish sports magazine, said that Perez is considering dismissing current Real Madrid manager and club-legend Zinedine Zidane if he ends the season without winning any trophies.
It added that Pochettino is a potential candidate for Zidane’s current position.
Meanwhile, a French football paper launched a poll for the best African player for January 2018, which included Salah, Leicester City and Algerian forward Riyad Mahrez, and Porto’s Malian striker Moussa Marega.
Elsewhere, international media and the official FIFA website quoted Russia’s national coach Stanislav Cherchesov, as he praised Salah’s skills and likened him to Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
“We should not let Salah move freely,” he said, with the 2018 Russia World Cup drawing nearer – where Egypt and Russia face one another in the group stages.
“His style is like Messi’s,” Cherchesov continued, but observed a difference in play between his Liverpool and national team performances, “he does not play the same when he is among the Egyptian team.”
Salah’s role with the Egyptian national team is “different,” and his team-mates are different from those at Liverpool, he added.
