Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is ready to manage again with returning to the Premier League his "priority".
The Argentinian was relieved of his duties at Tottenham in November and is no longer on their payroll having ended his six-month gardening leave earlier this week.
That means he is now free to join another club without prospective owners needing to pay Spurs compensation.
Pochettino has been heavily linked with Newcastle if their takeover goes through, while speculation around him joining Manchester United has never gone away, especially after Spurs defender and close ally Danny Rose said this week he thinks his former manager will end up at Old Trafford.
Real Madrid have also been suitors in the past and, while Pochettino has not ruled out joining a foreign club, he has given his biggest indication yet that his next job will see him back in the Premier League.
"After six months, our tanks are completely full," he said. "I have tried with my coaching staff to review everything that we did in the last seven years (including Southampton) because we never had a break until now.
"It has been an amazing time to review everything, to start to organise again our ideas to plan the future, to try to compete better, to try to learn from our experience and of course looking forward for the next job.
"I still think the Premier League is the best league in the world. We enjoy it a lot. Of course, it's one of the options. Of course, it can be my priority but I am not closed to moving to a different country."
Not only is it his love of the English game that is pointing towards staying in this country, it is also his personal circumstances, with his two sons Sebastiano and Maurizio living in London still, despite the family having a home in Barcelona.
"We have our house and our home here," he added. "We feel very good for the future in this country. People are very respectful. Football is so exciting.
"It's difficult to move to Barcelona. And then my kids. Maurizio is playing for Tottenham, Sebastiano has a girlfriend here in London.
"The family is moving around here in London. At the moment my idea is to stay here, live in London - me, myself and my family."
Whenever football resumes to some sort of normality, Pochettino is not going to be short of offers to resume his managerial career.
The work he did at Spurs, taking them to the top table of English and European football, is sure to earn him plenty of admirers.
Australian Associated Press
