Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the reported leading candidate to replace Michael Carrick at Manchester United, with the head coach's future set to be decided at Wednesday's meeting in Monaco — but no final decision has been taken, and Carrick remains in charge.
United sit 18th in the Premier League, in the relegation zone, after Sunday's chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa left them with one win from their first 10 league games and three wins in 15 in all competitions. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox flew to Monaco on Tuesday for Carrick's judgement day and will discuss Carrick's future with Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Wednesday, with the board reported to be minded to recommend a change. Any decision would still need Ratcliffe and the Glazer family to sign it off, and club insiders insist nothing has been settled yet.
Pochettino moves to the front of the queue
According to The Times, Pochettino is now the leading candidate if United make a change. Sky Sports News reports the USA head coach would be open to a discussion if approached, while ESPN reports he is the favoured candidate of a hierarchy alarmed by the slide into the relegation zone. Fabrizio Romano has reported that Carrick's job is at serious risk, and David Ornstein reported for The Athletic that a sacking is expected and that United have already begun work on replacements.
Pochettino is currently with the United States team for their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against Haiti. He extended his contract with the USA in August, a deal running until after the 2030 World Cup, but it is reported to contain a release clause in the region of £7 million to £7.4 million — around $10 million. The Sun has reported he would entertain the United job, a role he has been linked with repeatedly since his Tottenham days.
The other names in the frame
Pochettino is not the only name reported. Eddie Howe is admired and is reported to be favoured by Wilcox, with contact reported back in October. Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte have also been reported in the frame, Sebastian Hoeness is the newest name linked, per The Mirror and the i Paper, and Unai Emery — whose Villa side drew at Old Trafford on Sunday — is admired, per The Times. What unites the list is Premier League or elite-level experience: United cannot afford a project manager in a relegation fight.
Carrick, for his part, arrived at Carrington at 7.15am on Tuesday and took training as normal. He has insisted he will not resign, and until Wednesday's meeting concludes, he is still Manchester United's head coach.
So what does a mid-season change actually mean?
Timing is everything here. United's next match is Liverpool away on Sunday, 22 November — Anfield, with a new manager's first game potentially coming in the most hostile fixture in English football, or with Carrick sent there as a lame duck. The £7 million clause is not the obstacle it might look: it is a fraction of what United have spent on managerial pay-offs before, and waiting costs more if the slide continues. The real obstacle is the USA's calendar — prising a national-team coach away mid-cycle, days before a Nations League quarter-final, requires Pochettino to want it as much as United do.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: Pochettino is the obvious name, the available name and, on the reported evidence, the name at the front of the queue — but United have been here before, circling him in 2022 and choosing someone else. The verdict from Monaco on Wednesday will tell us whether they have finally learned, or whether 18th place still is not frightening enough. Would Pochettino be the right man to drag United out of the relegation zone? Let us know in the comments.
