Dean Jones has dropped a claim on the future of Aston Villa-linked manager Mauricio Pochettino.

What's been said?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider claimed that, after reports suggested that the 50-year-old would be interested in a move to Villa Park in the event that Steven Gerrard is relieved of his duties, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager is indeed interested in a move back to a Premier League club.

Regarding Pochettino's presence at England's 3-3 draw with Germany on Monday, Jones said: "Pochettino is very keen to be at games at the moment as he wants to be as ready as possible when a job opportunity crops up and so wants to see top players in person. I wouldn't read too much into him being at the England match beyond the fact he is serious about returning to the Premier League soon."

Real coup

Considering the fact that Gerrard has survived the two-week international break - typically a time when a club's owners decide to part with their coaches - it would appear as if the 42-year-old job at Villa Park is safe, for now at least.

Having said that, should NSWE ultimately decide that the former Glasgow Rangers manager is not the man who they want to take Villa forwards, bringing Pochettino to the club would undoubtedly represent a huge coup for a club of Villa's current standing.

Indeed, having taken over a below-par Southampton side back in 2012, the Argentine had an immediate impact on the Saints' fortunes, comfortably guiding the club to survival over his 16 fixtures in charge in 2012/13, before leading the South Coast club to a quite extraordinary eighth place finish in his first - and only - full season at St. Mary's.

As a result of the remarkable results he achieved at Southampton, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy decided to take the 50-year-old to north London in the summer of 2014, with Pochettino leading Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first campaign with the club, before recording an extraordinary four back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League.

However, it was not only domestically that Tottenham impressed under the Argentine, as the 50-year-old also masterminded the club's run to the 2018/19 Champions League final - in which they narrowly lost out to Liverpool.

As such, considering his undoubted ability to develop under-performing Premier League clubs into top-half regulars, as well as serious contenders for European trophies, should Villa indeed manage to convince the former PSG coach of a move to Villa Park, it would certainly represent a real coup for a club who were playing Championship football as recently as 2019.