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Mauricio Pochettino: Man Utd close to agreeing deal with Michael Carrick's potential successor ahead of Monaco meeting
Man Utd CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are set to meet minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a Monaco summit on Wednesday to review the club's start to the season; club would have to buy Mauricio Pochettino out of USA contract
Wednesday 11 November 2026 09:49, UK
Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal with Mauricio Pochettino to become their next head coach if they decide to sack Michael Carrick.
USA boss Pochettino is being lined up as Carrick's successor with United preparing for a potential parting of ways.
Carrick reported to United's Carrington training ground on Wednesday morning at around 7.45am before it emerged that talks with Pochettino are advanced.
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Sky Sports News understands United would have to pay around £7m to buy out Pochettino from his newly-signed contract with the USA but this is not thought to be an issue for the club.
Pochettino is understood to be ready if United ultimately decide to make a change at head coach, which remains likely. He is set to take charge of the USA against Haiti on Saturday as things stand.
While Carrick is in Manchester, United's powerbrokers are set to make a decision on his future at a Monaco summit on Wednesday.
CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox had already been due to meet minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a summit to review the club's start to the season.
But with United in the relegation zone after their worst start to a league campaign for 40 years, Carrick's future is increasingly in doubt and expected to be decided at the meeting.
Berrada and Wilcox have to make their recommendation to Ratcliffe, who has control of football operations at Old Trafford, before a final decision is made over Carrick.
Carrick was handed a stay of execution after United's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League last month, but momentum is now gathering behind a change in the dugout.
Pochettino has long been admired by United, who have held talks with the Argentine on at least two occasions about taking over.
Man Utd fixtures
Liverpool (A) - Premier League - Sunday November 22, live on Sky Sports
Sporting (A) - Champions League - Wednesday November 25
Brentford (H) - Premier League - Saturday November 28
Newcastle (A) - Premier League - Wednesday December 2, live on Sky Sports
Coventry (H) - Premier League - Saturday December 5
RB Leipzig (H) - Champions League - Tuesday December 8
Man Utd's Poch pursuit comes full circle
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United have a well-established history. One where paths might have crossed long before now, numerous times, but somehow never managed to converge.
Could it be that we are finally to bear witness to the culmination of this elaborate 10-year dance of incompatible circumstances?
The Old Trafford hierarchy have always admired Pochettino from afar. He was on their radar while at Tottenham and again when it was clear his time at PSG was coming to an end. The Argentine was eventually lured back to the Premier League, but instead returned to London, signing with Chelsea.
All along this journey of complicated courtship, United were at play. There have been many sliding-door moments. At the time news broke of Chelsea's interest in Pochettino in 2023, United, coached by Erik ten Hag, had just been ripped to shreds by Sevilla.
The morning after that defeat all the back pages focussed on another humiliating capitulation in Europe. 'What the El was that?' one read. Another lay into the inadequacies of Harry Maguire's performance. No doubt both headlines have been recycled since. At United, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Miraculously, it took another 18 months for the button to be pushed on Ten Hag. Four managers of varying permanency followed. Until another chance, a decade on from the first, has revealed itself to pursue the one that got away. Is this finally right place, right time for Pochettino?
Read the full feature here...
