Man United LIVE: Mauricio Pochettino agreement close ahead of expected Carrick sacking

He and long-time assistant Jesus Perez had frequently asked about Manchester United over the last decade. They would often contact friends in the game who were connected to Old Trafford, looking to find out what was happening, whether there could be an opening.

Pochettino came very close to taking one of those openings on at least three occasions: 2018, 2021 and 2024. Now, elements might finally have aligned.

US Soccer was prepared for the prospect of Mauricio Pochettino leaving the United States before the next World Cup, The Independent understands.

A succession plan has been drawn up in the event that Pochettino’s release clause is activated, with Man United thought to be ready to pay approximately £7m for the Argentine coach and his support staff.

The USA face a double header against Haiti during this international break, though it remains unclear if an interim boss will lead the stars and stripes before a long-term successor to Pochettino is confirmed.

USA defender Antonee Robinson says head coach Mauricio Pochettino is focused on their upcoming matches amid links with Manchester United.

Robinson said: “That news kind of got sprung on all of us, like the rest of the world, I’d say. And similar things happened in the past, happened at the World Cup, where huge teams lose their manager and they start looking at possible candidates.

“And for us to have a manager who’s linked with those sorts of jobs means we’re very lucky, and we know that we’re working with a top-class manager.

“But that never seems to leak into the work we do, whether it was the World Cup or whether it’s going to be this camp. All that sort of outside noise is nothing to do with him.

“He’s very much focused on getting the best out of the team and getting these two wins in the Nations League, and we’ll be on the same page as that.”

Should Carrick remain in charge or should he be replaced whoever is in the dugout following the international break will have a tricky start.

United’s next fixture is against Liverpool in the Premier League before a run of games against clubs that could firmly place them in a relegation battle should they fail to win them.

These are United’s next six fixtures:

Liverpool (A) – Premier League – Sunday November 22

Sporting (A) – Champions League – Wednesday November 25

Brentford (H) – Premier League – Saturday November 28

Newcastle (A) – Premier League – Wednesday December 2

Coventry (H) – Premier League – Saturday December 5

RB Leipzig (H) – Champions League – Tuesday December 8

Following the end of last season and Man Utd’s third place finish in the Premier League hope was high for a positive season in 2026/27.

The club were back in the Champions League and Michael Carrick had the players firing on the pitch but things didn’t turn out as planned.

A 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Hull City on the opening day of the season kicked off the campaign with the worst possible start and things declined from there.

United’s 5-2 victory over Ipswich was peppered with mistakes while a draw against Everton and then Sabah in the Champions League offered some hope.

That Sabah win came on September 10th and United did not win another game until November 3rd which translated to a nine-match winless run.

In that time they lost to rivals Man City – who played the majority of the game with 10-men – and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton despite being 2-0 up at Old Trafford.

A 4-1 defeat to Como in Europe then kick started a run of games which saw United conced 15 goals in five games. Three of those ended in defeats with one win and one draw.

The latter are United’s two most recent matches which were both fraught affairs.

United came from 2-0 down against Roma to triumph 3-2 in the Champions League while the Red Devils twice overcame a two goal deficit against Aston Villa to secure a 4-4 draw in the league last Sunday.

Manchester United have made their worst start to a season in 40 years under Michael Carrick this year.

They’ve won just once in the Premier League, against Ipswich Town, and have gained only eight points from the first 10 matches.

Pressure has mounted increasingly on Carrick over recent weeks though United are unbeaten in their last two games with a 3-2 win over Roma in the Champions League followed by a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday.

That win over Roma is United’s only victory, across all competitions, in their last 11 games.

Good morning and welcome to live updates on the turmoil around Manchester United.

The Independent’s Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney reports that the club are close to an agreement with Mauricio Pochettino to become their next manager.

It is not yet rubber-stamped that Michael Carrick will be sacked, but that is the expectation following a meeting of the hierarchy in Monaco yesterday, and Pochettino is now lined up as a replacement.

Michael Carrick said he still expects to be working with Manchester United over the international break and insisted he will not walk away.

United sit 18th in the table and they are now eight league games without a win – a club record in the Premier League era – with their only victory of the season back in August against newly-promoted Ipswich.

Asked on Sky Sports if he would quit if he felt it was the right thing to do for the club, Carrick said: “That’s not going to happen.”

Then, speaking in his post-match press conference, Carrick expressed confidence his side could still turn things around this season.

“One hundred per cent,” he said. “I think there’s more than enough. Goals change games and we’ve got to deal with it and it’s something we have to improve on drastically. But there’s more than enough, we’re just making it too difficult for ourselves at the moment in certain times…

“I’m quite clear with what direction the club needs to go in. We’ve just got to win games.”

Man United could break the £100m barrier for spending on hiring and firing managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit in 2013.

To sack Michael Carrick, a estimated sum of £5m is expected, while a $7m release clause exists in Mauricio Pochettino’s contract, though that figure could rise to £7.4m total, when including assistant coaches and support staff under Pochettino at US Soccer, reports the Telegraph.

• 2013: Sir Alex Ferguson staff unwanted by Moyes: £2.4m
• 2014: David Moyes and staff: £4.9m
• 2016: Louis Van Gaal and staff: £8.4m
• 2018: Jose Mourinho and staff: £19.6m
• 2021: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and staff £9.1m
• 2022: Ralf Rangnick and staff: £14.7m
• 2024: Erik Ten Hag and staff: £10.4m
• 2024: Hiring Dan Ashworth: £3m
• 2024: Hiring Ruben Amorim: £11m
• 2024: Sacking Dan Ashworth: £4.1m
• 2026: Sacking Ruben Amorim and staff: £8.2m
• 2026: Michael Carrick and staff: £5m*
• 2026: Hiring Mauricio Pochettino before additional staff costs: £7.4m*

United’s dramatic comeback against Aston Villa raises more questions around the direction of the club, explains Miguel Delaney, with Carrick’s demise exposing a more worrying truth about the club.