MANCHESTER United have reached a verbal agreement in principle with Mauricio Pochettino to take over as head coach.
Michael Carrick took training on Wednesday and officially remains United boss, but he is expected to be relieved of his duties before the end of the week.
He is set to then be replaced by Pochettino, although the Argentine is likely to remain in charge of the USA for their two games against Haiti during the current international break.
It is understood United are comfortable with that scenario and talks with US Soccer are set to accelerate over the next 24 hours.
While United are keen to get Pochettino to Old Trafford as soon as possible, the club are understood to be mindful of his commitments to the USA.
The majority of United’s players will return to the club by next Thursday ahead their trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday November 22, live on Sky Sports.
United are still finalising details with Pochettino’s camp. They need to discuss the £7m buyout for Pochettino with US Soccer and negotiate terms for his backroom staff.
Pochettino looks set to become United’s eighth permanent boss since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson 13 years ago.
Omar Berrada, the chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, met co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday to review the club’s start to the season.
Carrick was handed a stay of execution after United’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League last month, but momentum is now gathering behind a change in the dugout.
Why Poch can’t turn down Man Utd job
United have held talks over appointing Pochettino on three separate occasions prior to this and came close to appointing him a few times, including in 2022 when they hired Erik ten Hag instead.
Ferguson has long admired Pochettino and often had long conversations with the former Spurs boss following his matches against United.
The pair were pictured at a Mayfair restaurant in May 2016 amid speculation about Pochettino, then Spurs head coach, taking over from Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford. United subsequently chose to appoint Jose Mourinho.
It is understood Pochettino loves his job with the USA but feels he cannot say no to United.
The 54-year-old is ready to return to the Premier League two years after he was sacked by Chelsea. Pochettino considers his time at Stamford Bridge as successful but ultimately feels it was not the right fit.
Man Utd fixtures
Liverpool (A) – Premier League – Sunday November 22, live on Sky Sports
Sporting (A) – Champions League – Wednesday November 25
Brentford (H) – Premier League – Saturday November 28
Newcastle (A) – Premier League – Wednesday December 2, live on Sky Sports
Coventry (H) – Premier League – Saturday December 5
RB Leipzig (H) – Champions League – Tuesday December 8
Man Utd’s Poch pursuit comes full circle
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United have a well-established history. One where paths might have crossed long before now, numerous times, but somehow never managed to converge.
Could it be that we are finally to bear witness to the culmination of this elaborate 10-year dance of incompatible circumstances?
The Old Trafford hierarchy have always admired Pochettino from afar. He was on their radar while at Tottenham and again when it was clear his time at Paris Saint-Germain was coming to an end. The Argentine was eventually lured back to the Premier League but instead returned to London, signing with Chelsea.
All along this journey of complicated courtship, United were at play. There have been many sliding-door moments. At the time news broke of Chelsea’s interest in Pochettino in 2023, United, coached by Erik ten Hag, had just been ripped to shreds by Sevilla.
The morning after that defeat all the back pages focussed on another humiliating capitulation in Europe. ‘What the El was that?’ one read. Another lay into the inadequacies of Harry Maguire’s performance. No doubt both headlines have been recycled since. At United, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Miraculously, it took another 18 months for the button to be pushed on Ten Hag. Four managers of varying permanency followed. Until another chance, a decade on from the first, has revealed itself to pursue the one that got away. Is this finally right place, right time? –Sky Sports
