Pochettino brewing January plan for headline-grabbing Tottenham raid to announce Nice tenure in style

Mauricio Pochettino has already thought about bringing Tottenham star Hugo Lloris back to Nice as his first signing, a report claims.

The Argentine is still out of work after getting the sack from Paris Saint-Germain in July. While he won the Ligue 1 title, his shortfalls in the Champions League cost him his job.

During his PSG tenure, Pochettino had links with a return to the Premier League with Manchester United. He also had ties to a move to Chelsea until Graham Potter took over there.

Instead, he could well go on to manage a second French club. Indeed, Pochettino met with Nice officials on Tuesday.

And Media Foot Marseille has now revealed details of those discussions, which have covered ‘several issues’.

As well as his salary, talks between Pochettino and Nice are advancing towards plans for the January transfer window.

And the manager reportedly wants to reunite with France captain Lloris. The 35-year-old was a vital player for Pochettino in his Spurs tenure and is still the club’s captain.

Lloris’ future looked uncertain, but he recently signed a new deal and those terms expire in 2024.

However, Pochettino wants to cut short the goalkeeper’s final years at Tottenham to convince him over a headline-grabbing return to a former manager – and former club.

Lloris spent three years at Nice from 2005 to 2008 until he moved to Lyon and then the Premier League in 2012.

He has racked up 425 Tottenham appearances in his 10-plus years at Spurs, including 343 in the Premier League.

Lloris move to Nice would add intrigue

There is of course the appeal of Lloris moving back to Nice, where he built up his reputation as a top goalkeeper.

But, the Ligue 1 club only signed Kasper Schmeichel from Leicester this summer. And the 35-year-old Dane signed a three-year contract.

As such, it remains unclear who would be dropped should Lloris add to the competition at Nice.

Schmeichel was not the only former Premier League star Nice signed this summer. They added Ross Barkley from Chelsea, as well as former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

Meanwhile, Mario Lemina left Southampton for Nice last summer.

Tottenham star facing career crossroads

Lloris has not had to think about his future too much in recent seasons given his standout role at Tottenham.

Amid seemingly constant upheaval after Pochettino’s exit – both in the dugout and in the dressing room – Lloris has been a calming constant.

It looked as if he could move on this summer, but he extended his terms in January to put to bed such rumours.

Nevertheless, if Pochettino does indeed go after Lloris in January, he may find it hard to turn down such a move.

Not only would he be reuniting with his former club, but also his former manager. There would also be the chance to compete for minutes with Schmeichel, a fellow former Premier League star.

On the flipside, Antonio Conte is building an exciting project at Tottenham which Lloris may not want to leave.

Spurs are back in the Champions League and with Nice 13th in Ligue 1 as it stands, they face a battle to rival Tottenham for any European football, let alone the Champions League.

Spurs also finished in the Premier League’s top four last season and are looking to kick on from there.

READ MORE: Lloris suffers injury and withdraws from France squad to leave Spurs sweating on derby fitness