Mauricio Pochettino's name has been touted for the Manchester United job for so long that as his Paris Saint-Germain team capitulated spectacularly in Madrid on Wednesday, thoughts drifted not the future of the French club, but to the result's impact on the future of the Old Trafford hotseat.
Pochettino has been the favourite to take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick since the German was given the job until the end of the season back in November, with Ajax manager Erik ten Hag his main rival.
After sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, United made tentative enquiries to PSG about the availability of Pochettino, but were told that they would not let the manager leave mid-season.