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Juventus put Sarri and Pochettino on shortlist to replace Allegri


Maurizio Sarri and Mauricio Pochettino are both on Juventus’s wishlist as they continue to search for a new manager to replace Massimiliano Allegri.

The Turin club’s hierarchy are looking at the current Chelsea and Tottenham managers as well as Lazio’s Simone Inzaghi, but have not ruled out other candidates.

Related: Massimiliano Allegri leaves Juventus as one of their great managers

Allegri announced on 17 May that he was leaving the club after five years in charge, having won five Serie A titles but also having failed to secure the Champions League title. Juventus, who bought Cristiano Ronaldo for €100m last summer, are looking to take the next step up at European level, and believe Sarri, Pochettino and Inzaghi are all capable of delivering that progress.

Sarri is just 10 months into a two-year Chelsea contract, meaning Juventus would have to pay £5m to secure him – unless the Italian is sacked before they make their move. Sarri has faced sustained criticism from Chelsea fans for his playing style, despite steering his side to a third-place finish and to the Europa League final. Speaking last week, Sarri said he would rather be sacked immediately than have his Chelsea future hinge on Wednesday’s result in Baku.

“Ten months of work, and then I have to play everything in 90 minutes?” said Sarri. “It’s not right. It’s not the right way. You’re either happy about my work or you’re not happy. I have no contact with other clubs at the moment.”

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Pochettino, who is preparing his side for Saturday’s Champions League final against Liverpool, admitted this month he would consider leaving Tottenham in the summer if he does not believe in the plan of the chairman, Daniel Levy, for the next phase of the club’s development.

The Argentinian, who has worked on a restricted budget due to the new stadium project, said Spurs must now “operate in a different way … give me different tools. We need to create a realistic plan to develop in the next year, five years … if not, our destiny is to crash.”