By OkayGoal
The news of Manchester United’s reported interest in U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino will have players and fans worried about the squad’s immediate future but for defender Antonee Robinson, he is looking at the positives of working alongside the Argentine.
Robinson remains one of the key veterans in the USMNT squad as CONCACAF Nations League play gears up this month. The Fulham left back is part of Pochettino’s 25-player roster for the upcoming quarterfinal series vs. Haiti, the USMNT’s first set of competitive matches since the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
News broke on Monday that Manchester United were keen on appointing Pochettino as its new manager, despite Michael Carrick still being in the position. Pressure had grown on Carrick over the past few weeks as the Red Devils continued to disappoint in the English Premier League, recently dropping into the relegation zone this past weekend.
With Carrick reportedly set for the sack, Pochettino has emerged as the leading candidate for Man United, a job that would bring the 54-year-old back to club football and the bright lights of the Premier League.
Although Pochettino signed a new, four-year contract with U.S. Soccer in August, the prospect of managing one of the biggest clubs in the world might be too hard for him to pass up.
Robinson knows it won’t be the last time that Pochettino will be linked with a new opportunity, voicing the value that the USMNT has of learning from him.
“That news got sprung on all of us like the rest of the world,” Robinson said in a conference call. “Similar things have happened in the past after the World Cup where huge teams lose a manager and they start looking at possible candidates.
“For us to have a manager who gets linked to those sorts of jobs means we’re very lucky we’re working with a top-level manager, he added. “But that never seems to leak into the work we do, whether it’s the World Cup or whether it’s this camp.”
Manchester United hasn’t been the first club that has shown interest in Pochettino since he joined U.S. Soccer’s ranks. AC Milan, Brentford, and Tottenham have all expressed interest in signing the longtime manager, but Pochettino remained committed to the USMNT ahead of the World Cup on home soil.
Now with a new cycle underway, Pochettino will have a decision to make on whether or not he stays at the international level or tries to turn the side at Old Trafford.
Robinson isn’t letting the reports distract him from him from preparing for Haiti, knowing that as of now, Pochettino will be in the USMNT dugout on Saturday.
“As a soccer player, I’m pretty used to sort of fast-changing environments,” Robinson said. “So we’re all very good at just focusing on the next task at hand and the next game coming up.
“And for me personally, I don’t really look at him being in limbo with jobs,” he added. “It’s just focusing on we’ve got a game for the weekend and I’m going to do everything I can to be ready to play for him.”