'Today it's not realistic' - USMNT's Mauricio Pochettino denies interest in succeeding Ange Postecoglou, returning to Tottenham

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Mauricio Pochettino denied any interest in succeeding the fired Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham manager, saying after the USMNT's 2-1 loss to Turkey on Saturday that "Today it's not realistic. Look at where I am, where we are, and I think is the answer is so clear."

Several media outlets have speculated that Pochettino is on Tottenham's radar, with the BBC reporting that the Spurs have interest in bringing back the U.S. boss, while also considering Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Fulham's Marco Silva.

The BBC also reported that it would be financially challenging to hire Pochettino, given the compensation required to break his current contract with U.S. Soccer.

When asked about his interest in a return to Tottenham, Pochettino noted that he had frequently been linked with the Spurs job since he was controversially let go in 2019.

"Since I left in 2019, for the position of the manager or the head coach, my name has been appearing on every list!" he said on Saturday. "If you are seeing the rumors I’ve seen, there are 100 coaches on their list! Don't be worried about that. If something happened, you will see, but we cannot talk about this type of thing."

Pochettino spent five years in charge at Spurs, leading the club to the 2019 Champions League final and consistently securing top-four league finishes, including a second-place finish in 2017. Since leaving north London, Pochettino has managed high-profile clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

The Argentine joined the USMNT last September, replacing the fired Gregg Berhalter, and is currently mired in a three-game losing streak, including the loss against Turkey.

The U.S. have one more friendly against Switzerland on June 10 before kicking off their Gold Cup against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Ryan Tolmich contributed reporting to this story.