Manchester United will move to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach should they decide to sack Michael Carrick.
A high-level meeting in Monaco today is expected to seal Carrick’s fate and United officials have now lined up current USA men’s national team boss Pochettino to take the reins if that happens.
Contract terms under exploration
The 54-year-old is currently preparing for a two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarter-final with Haiti, with games on Saturday and Wednesday, but United are exploring the terms of a contract with his camp should they opt for a managerial change.
United sit in the relegation zone in the Premier League after 10 games of the season, with just one win to their name, and despite improved results against Roma and Aston Villa last week, Carrick is set to pay the price with his job.
Decision expected this week
Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox have concluded that Carrick is no longer the right man to turn the club around and are set to recommend to co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Wednesday that a change of head coach is required, although no final decision has yet been made.
The Glazer family will also need to sign off on that decision, and with Berrada and Wilcox keen to inform Carrick in person, it could be Thursday before a decision is communicated.
Having considered the out-of-work options of Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann as replacements, United have now settled on Pochettino.
Release clause in place
Although he signed an extension to his contract with the US Soccer Federation after the World Cup, his deal includes a $10million (£7.5million) release clause and it will be easy for United to extract him from his contract.
Pochettino is keen to return to the Premier League and take charge of United, having twice come close to taking over before, in 2018 and 2022. He has plenty of Premier League experience, having done an outstanding job at Tottenham, while his last job in club football was taking charge of Chelsea for the 2023/24 season.
