Manchester United are reportedly preparing to sign a central defender in the January transfer window if Mauricio Pochettino is appointed as their new head coach. The club is finalising a deal to release Pochettino from his contract with the USA national team, and he is now widely expected to replace Michael Carrick.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, director of football Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada are meeting in Monaco, where Carrick's future is the main subject. It is heavily expected that the two United boardroom chiefs will recommend parting with the former Middlesbrough manager.
A quick boost for the new boss
If Pochettino is appointed, it is understood that United will quickly look to sign a central defender to help plug the holes in their backline. According to The Mail, Brentford's Nathan Collins, Fulham's Calvin Bassey and Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite are high on their list, with transfer chiefs prepared to act after seeing the club's defence exposed this season.
Under Carrick, United have conceded 15 goals in their last five matches. The club decided not to strengthen their backline as they wanted to focus on their midfield, a decision which has come back to haunt them. United have also endured multiple injury issues with Luke Shaw, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui.
Defensive struggles this season
Only rock-bottom Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town have conceded more than the 19 Premier League goals United have shipped this season. Initially, United were hoping to rebuild their defence next season after deciding to bulk their midfield with the signings of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba. It now looks like they want to bring this transformation forward in January.
This would be a quick boost for Pochettino, who will need to breathe new life into a United side that has won just three of their last 15 matches in all competitions. United had been linked with Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte when the Reds were beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth.
Carrick's final matches
With the United board undecided on who to appoint at the time, they gave Carrick three matches to try and save his job. He lost 2-0 away to Chelsea, but recorded a 3-2 home victory over Roma in the Champions League and a 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa, both results which required United to overturn two-goal deficits - the latter requiring United to do so twice.
However, it appears that was not enough to spare Carrick, with former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Pochettino now expected to be the man in the dugout for next weekend's trip to Liverpool.
