If Michael Carrick’s departure as head coach of Manchester United is confirmed, Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly the man tasked with turning the fortunes of the Old Trafford club around.
United lie in the Premier League’s relegation zone, one point off the bottom in 18th, after winning just one of their opening 10 matches, that coming against Ipswich in August.
It’s the club’s worst start to a season in 30 years, and the expectations will be high for whoever takes the role, with their first league game coming away at bitter rivals Liverpool on November 22.
Pochettino – whose release from the contract extension he signed as USA head coach has reportedly been arranged while Carrick officially remains in position – would become the eighth permanent man in charge at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in May 2013 after more than 26 years in the job.
Who is Mauricio Pochettino?
The 54-year-old Argentinian was known during his playing career as a no-nonsense central defender, but as a manager he has evolved into one known for attractive, attacking football, with a focus on developing young talent.
He began playing in 1989 with Newell’s Old Boys before a switch to Spain in 1994, joining La Liga side Espanyol, where he played more than 200 league games across a seven-year career and broke into the Argentina squad, winning 20 caps and starting every game in the 2002 World Cup.
He had spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux in France’s Ligue 1 before ending his career with Espanyol, for whom he passed 300 appearances in all competitions.
His first job in management came in January 2009, when he became Espanyol’s third coach of the season and successfully guided the Barcelona-based club away from the threat of relegation and beat city rivals Barcelona at Camp Nou for the first time in 27 years along the way.
He left the club by mutual consent in November 2012 and landed his first job in the Premier League at Southampton two months later, earning plaudits as Saints climbed the table before leading them to an eighth-placed finish in his first full season and the club’s highest points tally since the Premier League’s formation in 1992.
He moved to Tottenham in 2014 and oversaw the most successful run in the club’s recent history, reaching the League Cup final in his first season and finishing in fifth. He also allowed young prospects like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier the chance to shine – something which has been a focus for the Argentinian during his coaching career, often watching youth games and allowing young prospects to train with first-team set-ups to help their progress.
Spurs recorded their highest league finish since 1990 in 2016 and in 2017 finished second with a club-record 86 points, their highest finish since 1963.
Pochettino guided Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019, overcoming Man City and Ajax in dramatic style along the way before losing 2-0 to Liverpool in the final in Madrid.
He was, however, sacked five months later after a poor start to the Premier League season before becoming head coach of Paris Saint-Germain from January 2021 to July 2022, departing after winning his first league title.
He spent the 2023-24 season in charge of Chelsea but departed two days after guiding the Blues to a sixth-place finish and took over the USA national team in September 2024, guiding the cohosts to the last-16 exit at the hands of Belgium at the 2026 World Cup before extending his contract in August.
Is Pochettino’s style a good fit?
Man United have long been associated with free-flowing attacking football, and Pochettino’s style was always likely to make him a more appealing option for the club’s hierarchy than the more pragmatic approach of another of the potential frontrunners for the job, Antonio Conte.
The Italian’s style is built more around tactical discipline, high work rate and defensive stability with reliance on quick counter-attacks.
Across his coaching career, Pochettino has become known for his attacking style of play, which relies on pressing high to win the ball back, focuses on keeping possession and usually adopts a 4-2-3-1 formation – which might suit the squad he inherits, as it becomes more of a 3-2-5 when building from the back, employing one inverted full-back and allowing the other to provide width in attack.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo would likely thrive in his system, but the lack of a top-class No. 9 will be a hindrance, with Benjamin Sesko sidelined through injury and Joshua Zirkzee having struggled to make an impact.
The defence will come under huge scrutiny too; United have conceded 30 goals in their 15 games in all competitions this season and Pochettino’s defence can be exposed on the counterattack with so many men committed forward.
One of the factors which Pochettino is known for is his willingness to integrate young talent into training and match day squads and help establish a club’s identity, particularly at Southampton, where he previously worked with United’s Luke Shaw, and at Tottenham.
That is also something United have traditionally been associated with, with Sir Alex Ferguson taking the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville and turning them into global stars. The likes of Shea Lacey might benefit particularly from Pochettino’s tutelage.
Any potential pitfalls?
There might be some. One of Tottenham fans’ main gripes during Pochettino’s largely successful period at the club was that he prioritised league games over cup games, and team selections often reflected that.
United are already out of the League Cup, but a new boss appointed during the international break will face 16 games in 60 days starting with the trip to Anfield, with four Champions League games and an FA Cup third-round tie to fit in around 11 Premier League games which might prove crucial to their season.
Pochettino’s style also places a heavy reliance on fitness, intensity and discipline, something which has been somewhat lacking in large parts of the season so far at the Red Devils.
There were also issues arising from his spell at PSG. He was able to call upon some of the icons of the sport in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in 2021, but PSG failed to win Ligue 1 for the first time in the past nine seasons, finishing a point behind Lille after losing four games down the stretch.
He did win the title the following year, with Lionel Messi added to the ranks, but they failed to make even the quarterfinals of the Champions League or the Coupe de France.
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