Man United targets Pochettino as Carrick nears exit, ESPN reports

Manchester United's leadership has settled on Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of the U.S. men's national team, as its favored candidate to replace Michael Carrick, ESPN reported on Tuesday, as the club weighs firing Carrick after its worst-ever start to a Premier League season.

The table explains the urgency. United have won once in 10 league games and sit one point off the bottom, inside the relegation zone, according to ESPN. Sky Sports framed the slump more starkly still: one win in 11 games across all competitions, 30 goals conceded, the worst defensive record of any team in Europe's top five leagues, and an eighth straight Premier League match without a win.

No decision has been announced. Sky Sports News reported that no final call has been made on Carrick's future, and that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are due to meet minority owner Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday to present a season review and recommend a course. ESPN said the hierarchy, led by co-chairman Joel Glazer, now accepts that performances and results demand a change of manager, and described Carrick's prospects as increasingly bleak.

Pochettino would not come cheap or free. The 54-year-old Argentine extended his contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation until 2030 in August, after taking the United States to the round of 16 at this summer's World Cup. A source told ESPN the deal carries an escape clause worth $10 million (£7.4 million) that United would have to pay. Sky put the cost of buying him out at around £7m and said Pochettino would be open to a discussion if the club approached him.

He is a familiar name at Old Trafford. ESPN said Pochettino has interviewed for the United job on three previous occasions, while Sky said the club has held talks with him at least twice. The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach is regarded inside the club as having the Premier League experience and the personality needed to drag United out of danger, ESPN reported.

Carrick's fall has been fast. The former United midfielder arrived as interim manager in January and steered the club to Champions League qualification, which earned him a two-year contract in the summer. His only previous managerial job was at Championship side Middlesbrough. According to Sky, the hierarchy believes he over-achieved last season with a third-place finish, and that the current squad has badly under-achieved since.

He has already survived one review. Carrick was given a reprieve after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth a fortnight ago, with the bosses granting him three more matches to turn the season around. ESPN said he has won only one of four games since. He arrived at the Carrington training ground as normal on Tuesday morning.

United have held off for reasons that go beyond the scoreline. Sky laid out three. Supporters have not turned on Carrick, who won 11 major trophies as a United player, including the Champions League and five Premier League titles. The board believes he still has the backing of the dressing room, pointing to comebacks in a Champions League win over Roma and Sunday's late draw with Aston Villa. And executives are not yet convinced that a new coach would fix the club's deeper problems.

Pochettino is not the only name in the frame. Eddie Howe, the former Newcastle manager, is admired by United's bosses, and Julian Nagelsmann, who is also out of work, is among the options, according to ESPN. Kieran McKenna, who was interviewed for the job in 2024, has supporters at Old Trafford. Sky reported that if United do make a change, they want to avoid handing the team to another interim head coach.

Prying Pochettino loose would also mean pulling him out of an active international schedule. Sky said he is preparing the U.S. to face Haiti in the Nations League quarterfinals, a reminder that United's problem would quickly become U.S. Soccer's as well.

The calendar gives the club a short window. With most players away on international duty and no first-team training planned in the coming days, United plan to use the break to evaluate their options, Sky said. Their next match is against Liverpool at Anfield on Nov. 22, and there are real doubts about whether Carrick will be in the dugout for it. Follow the story on the Sports Sector.