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Nice target Mauricio Pochettino as replacement for Lucien Favre - sources

Nice are hoping they can convince Mauricio Pochettino to replace Lucien Favre as manager of the Ligue 1 club, sources have told ESPN.

Favre, 64, is under huge pressure after a disappointing start to the campaign in which Nice have won just two of their opening eight games.

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Sources have said Nice owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the richest man in the UK, is considering sacking the Swiss manager and that Pochettino is the first-choice candidate to replace him.

Sources added the French club are prepared to meet Pochettino's financial demands.

But other sources have told ESPN it is unlikely Pochettino, 50, would prioritise a move back to France.

The former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager is more keen on a return to the Premier League, where his reputation remains high.

The Argentine was sacked by PSG in July after 18 months at the club in which he guided them to the Ligue 1 title but failed to take them past the semifinals of the Champions League.

Pochettino previously spent five years at Tottenham from 2014-2019, taking them to the Champions League final in 2019, where they lost to Liverpool.

His name was on the shortlist for jobs at Manchester United and Chelsea this summer but Erik ten Hag and Graham Potter were appointed ahead of him.