Mauricio Pochettino is ready to accept an offer from Manchester United to become their new head coach, with the club having opened talks with the Argentine about a potential replacement for Michael Carrick. According to BBC Sport, Pochettino wants to take the job once Carrick's future has been clarified.
Carrick is expected to be relieved of his duties within the next 48 hours. His future will be decided at a meeting in Monaco on Wednesday, which will be attended by chief executive Omar Berrada, football director Jason Wilcox and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Berrada and Wilcox travelled to Monaco for one of their regular, scheduled strategy meetings, but this time the main topic is Carrick's fate and next steps. Their recommendation is expected to be that the head coach should go.
Pochettino wants to remain fair to the United States Soccer Federation and will wait for United to make a formal approach. The club would have to pay $10 million (£7.5 million) to release him from his contract. Pochettino signed his contract only in August, and the United States play two Concacaf Nations League quarter-final matches against Haiti in the next week. If United decide to proceed, they can decide whether Pochettino stays with the American national team for those fixtures.
Pochettino, who is 54, considers the chance to manage United a serious opportunity, and it is expected that he would accept the job if it were formally offered to him. United have spoken to the former Argentine defender about the managerial position on three occasions: when Jose Mourinho was sacked in 2018, then in 2022 before the club appointed Erik ten Hag, and again in 2024 when the Dutchman was dismissed. One source told the author that the terms under which Pochettino would come to United are largely agreed.
Carrick, who is 45, was filmed arriving at the club's Carrington training base on Wednesday. United are 18th in the Premier League, inside the relegation zone, with just one win in their first 10 matches and none since August. It is the club's lowest position at this stage of the season in the top flight since 1986/87, when they were 20th. United's match against Liverpool at Anfield is played on 22 November.
Pochettino's first job in the Premier League was at Southampton from January 2013. He then managed Tottenham for five years, with whom he played in the Champions League final. From January 2021 to July 2022, he was the coach of Paris St-Germain, and he spent the 2023/24 season on the bench at Chelsea. He moved into international football by taking over the American national team in September 2024, and led the co-hosts to the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.
