Manchester United look set for another change in the dugout. Michael Carrick is expected to be dismissed within days, and the club have reportedly lined up USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino to take over. As of Wednesday evening, United had announced neither move.
The results leave little room for doubt. Ten league games into the season, United sit 18th, in the relegation zone, with their only Premier League win coming against Ipswich back in August. You have to go back to the 1986-87 season to find United in a worse spot this early in a top-flight year.
The decision was being shaped in Monaco. Ratcliffe, who holds the reins on football matters, met his two senior executives there, Berrada and Wilcox. According to the BBC and the Guardian, the pair were expected to recommend that the 45-year-old go. A board meeting involving the majority-owning Glazer family was also scheduled.
The Guardian reports that a framework deal with Pochettino is already in place, and the BBC says the 54-year-old Argentine is ready to accept a formal offer. United have sounded him out three times before, most recently in 2024. He signed a contract with US Soccer running to 2030 only in August, with a release clause of around $10m; bringing long-time assistant Jesús Pérez would raise the bill.
One open question is whether he will still be on the US bench when they meet Haiti over two legs in the Nations League last eight, starting on Saturday. US Soccer is said to have a succession plan ready.
Whoever is in charge will face a stern first test: United visit Liverpool at Anfield on November 22.
