The 54-year-old Argentine met with Milan representatives ahead of the United States national team's training camp in Georgia, according to reports from The Athletic's James Horncastle. Pochettino himself denied having met directly with club officials when asked by reporters, but stopped short of denying that his representatives had been involved in discussions.
AC Milan are searching for a new head coach after dismissing Massimiliano Allegri, along with sporting director Igli Tare, technical director Geoffrey Moncada and chief executive officer Giorgio Furlani, in the wake of a dismal Serie A campaign.
The club's American ownership group, RedBird Capital Partners, described the season as an "unequivocal failure" after Milan dropped from third place to fifth on the final day, losing 2-1 at home to Cagliari and missing out on the Champions League for the second consecutive season, though a Europa League spot was secured.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains in his advisory role as the only senior figure to survive the clearout.
Pochettino's focus is firmly fixed on the World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and begins in mid-June. The United States open their Group A campaign against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles before facing Australia and Turkey.
His long-term future beyond the tournament, however, remains open. He has not ruled out staying on with United States Soccer, telling reporters in March: "Who knows what is going to happen? We are open. We don't have a contract for the future. But why not if we are happy and the federation is happy?"
Milan represent an altogether different proposition. Pochettino lives between London and Barcelona and has long been expected to return to European club football, where his reputation was built across spells with Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
His most notable period came at Tottenham, where he spent five and a half years and guided the club to the 2019 Champions League final, only to lose 2-0 to Liverpool. He then took charge at PSG for a season and a half, winning the Ligue 1 title and French Cup, before his sole season at Chelsea in 2023-24 ended with a sixth-place Premier League finish and defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
The timing of the reports has attracted criticism in the United States, with former national team forward Herculez Gomez among those questioning the optics of a managerial search emerging just days before a home World Cup.
Milan employ United States international Christian Pulisic, which offers an intriguing dimension to any eventual appointment.
For now, Pochettino's hands are full. Whether he answers Milan's call when the tournament ends will depend as much on the exits at San Siro as it does on what happens on the pitch over the coming weeks.