Pochettino agrees Man United deal to replace Carrick

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with Mauricio Pochettino to become their next head coach if Michael Carrick is sacked, and the decision on Carrick is being made in Monaco on Wednesday.

According to Sky Sports, some details are still being finalised with Pochettino’s camp, and talks are set to speed up with the US Soccer Federation over when the 54-year-old can be released from his contract as USA head coach.

The release clause of around £7m is not thought to be a problem for United. The awkward part is the timing: Pochettino is due to take charge of the USA in a two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against Haiti, starting on Saturday.

What happens to Michael Carrick?

Carrick was at Carrington on Wednesday, taking training with the players who are not away on international duty, while his future was being decided a long way from Manchester.

Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox were already due to meet co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco for a planned review of the start to the season. Carrick’s position has become the main item on the agenda. Berrada and Wilcox make their recommendation to Ratcliffe, who controls football operations at Old Trafford, and the expectation is that they will recommend a change.

It is easy to see why. United are 18th in the Premier League, inside the relegation zone, after winning one of their first ten league games and none since August. That is their lowest position at this stage of a top-flight season since 1986-87, and the worst start to a league campaign in 40 years.

Carrick insisted after the dramatic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa that he would not walk away, and as we covered at the time, he was adamant that resigning was not going to happen. He was given a stay of execution after the 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth last month, but the momentum has now swung firmly towards a change.

Why Pochettino, and why now?

This has been a long time coming. United have spoken to Pochettino about the job on three previous occasions: when Jose Mourinho was sacked in 2018, in 2022 before Erik ten Hag was appointed, and again when Ten Hag was sacked in 2024.

His Premier League CV is well known. He started at Southampton in January 2013, spent five years at Tottenham from 2014 and took them to a Champions League final, then managed Paris St-Germain from January 2021 to July 2022 before a single season at Chelsea in 2023-24. He took the USA job in September 2024 and led the co-hosts to the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

The USA question is the one detail left to solve. United could let him finish the Haiti games, but that would mean a quick turnaround to get to Carrington before the first game back after the international break.

A brutal first month waiting

Whoever is in the dugout, the run of fixtures coming up does not offer an easy way in. It starts with a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield, a side who looked sharp in their 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Is Pochettino the right man for Man United?

On paper, he ticks the boxes United have chased for a decade: Premier League experience, a Champions League final on his CV, and a clear desire for the job. He has been admired at Old Trafford since his Spurs days, and the club clearly never stopped thinking about him.

But the timing is rough on Carrick, who has spent the week saying he wants to fight on, and rough on whoever replaces him. Six games in 17 days, starting at Anfield, is not a gentle bedding-in period. A new manager will not fix a squad sitting 18th overnight, and the bigger questions about recruitment and who calls the shots will not go away just because the face in the dugout changes.

Still, if United are going to make a change, doing it now, during the international break, gives Pochettino at least a few days on the grass before Liverpool. Expect clarity on Carrick soon. Then the hard part starts.