Manchester United have opened talks with Mauricio Pochettino and are expected to remove Michael Carrick within 48 hours.
BBC Sport and Punch cited sources who said contact had taken place between the two parties, and that Pochettino, 54, is ready to accept the job.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are expected to recommend Carrick’s dismissal, which could come within the next 48 hours.
Berrada and Wilcox travelled to Monaco for a scheduled discussion about the club’s strategy, but Carrick’s position is now their main concern. His future will be settled at a meeting there on Wednesday, attended by Berrada, Wilcox and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Any change would carry a price. United would have to pay $10m (£7.5m) to end Pochettino's agreement with the United States national team, signed in August.
I have been told by one source the Pochettino terms to join United are more or less agreed.
I have also been told if they decide to push on, United can decide whether the former Spurs and Chelsea boss remains with the USA team for their matches against Haiti.
Over the coming week, Haiti and the USA are set to play a Concacaf Nations League quarter-final over two legs.
Staying with that squad would mean a sharp turnaround, from a Tuesday night match finishing in the early hours of Wednesday to Carrington ahead of United's 22 November visit to Anfield to face Liverpool.
United aren’t picking a coach simply to steady a bad run. They’re choosing who takes the team to Anfield on 22 November, in the middle of a competitive window for another national side.
United sit 18th with one win in 10 games
After taking just one win from their first 10 league games, United are 18th in the Premier League and in the relegation zone, with no league victories since August. They haven’t been this low in the top flight at this stage of a season since 1986-87, when they were 20th, making the Anfield trip a live crisis point rather than a fixture to manage.
A manager United have approached three times
United have approached Pochettino about the managerial vacancy three times before: after Jose Mourinho's 2018 dismissal, in 2022 ahead of Erik ten Hag's appointment, and following Ten Hag's 2024 sacking.
Southampton gave him his first Premier League role in January 2013. He moved to Tottenham in 2014, where he spent five years and reached a Champions League final.
Paris St-Germain were under his management from January 2021 until July 2022. He then led Chelsea for the 2023-24 season.
He took the USA job in September 2024. At the 2026 World Cup, the co-hosts under his leadership advanced to the last 16.
According to the two reports, the coach wants to remain respectful to the US Soccer Federation and is expected to wait for United to make an official approach.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2018 | United spoke to Pochettino after Jose Mourinho was sacked |
| 2022 | Talks before Erik ten Hag was appointed |
| 2024 | Talks after Ten Hag was sacked |
| 2016 | Jose Mourinho had agreed a United contract before Louis van Gaal was sacked |
| 2009 | Mark Hughes was replaced immediately by Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, with his dismissal reported on the morning of his final game |
On Wednesday, a photograph showed Carrick, 45, arriving at the club's Carrington training ground.
BBC Sport notes that United and Mourinho had reached a contract agreement in 2016, before the club dismissed Louis van Gaal. It offers a previous example of terms being settled ahead of a manager’s departure.
At Manchester City in 2009, Mark Hughes was replaced immediately by Roberto Mancini, with his imminent dismissal out on the morning of his final game.
What we know
- United have opened talks with Pochettino about replacing Carrick.
- Carrick's future will be decided at a meeting in Monaco on Wednesday.
- Pochettino is 54 and signed his United States contract in August.
Still unclear
- Whether Carrick is actually dismissed, and what the Monaco meeting concludes.
- Whether United make a formal approach and offer to Pochettino, and whether the £7.5m release fee is triggered.
- Whether Pochettino stays with the USA for the Haiti matches or leaves mid-camp.
- WednesdayMonaco meeting Berrada, Wilcox and Ratcliffe decide Carrick's future.
- 48 hoursDismissal expected Carrick is expected to be relieved of his duties.
- Coming weekHaiti ties The USA play a two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.
- 22 NovemberAnfield United face Liverpool in the league.
Carrick’s future will be settled at Wednesday’s meeting in Monaco. United’s next league game is at Anfield against Liverpool on 22 November.
