Pochettino wants to leave USA role for United
United board meeting scheduled for Wednesday
Manchester United have a framework agreement with Mauricio Pochettino for him to become their head coach if Michael Carrick is sacked. Carrick is expected to be fired in line with the recommendation from Jason Wilcox, the director of football, and Omar Berrada, the chief executive, to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Pochettino is the USA men’s national team head coach and in August signed a contract to 2030 but he wants the United job after managing in the Premier League with Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Wilcox and Berrada are meeting Ratcliffe in Monaco, where the club’s minority owner will be informed that Carrick should lose his job. Ratcliffe controls United’s sporting policy.
There is a growing sense among United players that Carrick will be sacked, with their expectation being that Pochettino will replace him.
A United board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at which one or more of the six Glazer siblings, who are the majority owners, will be represented. There is an expectation within the executive and in Carrick’s camp that the sacking will be ratified there and that an announcement will follow.
Pochettino’s contract contains a release clause of about $10m (£7.5m), although the compensation United would have to pay will be higher if the Argentinian brings his own staff, including his longtime assistant and confidant Jesús Pérez, who has worked with Pochettino for 16 years.
The USA team are due to play Concacaf Nations League games against Haiti on Saturday and Wednesday in Miami and Cincinnati respectively, their first competitive fixtures of the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle.
Pochettino took USA training yesterdayon Wednesday but player media access was cancelled, with Veterans Day cited as the reason for changing a schedule released five days ago.
Carrick has overseen a disastrous start to United’s season which has the club in the relegation zone. The 45‑year‑old coach has won only one game in the league, against Ipswich in August, and three in all competitions. United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton in September.
Marcus Rashford is recovering from a groin injury that has ruled him out since he came off during the 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid last month. United are targeting the trip to Liverpool on Sunday week for the forward’s return, after he saw a specialist in Dublin last week and embarked on a tailored rehabilitation programme. The problem is related to a hip injury Rashford sustained at the World Cup this summer.
