Rio Ferdinand has named Mauricio Pochettino as his preferred candidate to replace Michael Carrick as Manchester United manager, saying the Argentine 'jumps off the list' of potential successors.
Carrick, 45, looks set to be sacked following United's poor start to the 2026/27 campaign. The club are 18th in the Premier League heading into the November international break, just one point off bottom spot.
Pochettino leads the contenders
Old Trafford bosses are reviewing Carrick's position, with a change in the dugout appearing the most likely outcome. Eddie Howe, Fabian Hurzeler, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte have all been linked with the role in recent months.
Pochettino, 54, signed an extension to his contract as USA coach after last summer's World Cup, but the deal is believed to contain a release clause. Ferdinand has now voiced his support for the former Tottenham and Chelsea boss.
Ferdinand's assessment
'People are talking about Mauricio Pochettino and it looks like he's at the front of the queue right now,' Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. 'We spent some time with him and his team in the summer, they're really good guys and competent at what they do.'
'I look at Pochettino and one of his biggest assets is that human element of his management and building confidence with his players. That's a big part of Manchester United at the moment because we've got far too many broken individuals.'
'How that gets rebuilt, is that coaching, results or somebody coming in and putting an arm around their shoulder? It's going to be all of that.'
Rebuilding United
'I look at that group of names and think Pochettino is the one that jumps off the list as someone who has more of the things we're looking for to save and build a group of players,' Ferdinand added.
'I think he's got more than the others from what I've seen and my interactions with him over time. There's not many names jumping off the page when you look at it. People will say, "what has Pochettino won?", but you can say the same about Eddie Howe.'
'The standards have dropped massively so let's be realistic about where we are. There's a process to get back there. We need to stabilise and get back in the Champions League again.'
