Mauricio Pochettino was on the short list when Manchester United sacked Louis van Gaal and figured even more prominently as they sought a successor to Jose Mourinho.
So it makes perfect sense that he remains in their sights to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pochettino lost out to Mourinho’s pedigree and experience, and then, two and a half years on, to the emotional appeal of Solskjaer, but he is better equipped than ever to step into the job at Old Trafford if they can extract him from Paris Saint-Germain.
And how United could do with a leader of his ilk to step in, cast an eye over their expensive and inefficient squad, and shape it for a future in pursuit of past glories.