Reports say Manchester United may replace Michael Carrick with Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino currently coaches the U.S. men’s team.
Manchester United are reportedly preparing to replace manager Michael Carrick with Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of the United States men’s national team, according to reports Tuesday and Wednesday.
ESPN, citing sources, reported that Pochettino would be open to returning to the Premier League with United. The network said club officials are preparing to dismiss Carrick, 45, with Pochettino the favored candidate. Carrick was still taking training as usual Tuesday. The Athletic reported Wednesday that United are finalizing a deal to hire Pochettino if the club decides to sack Carrick, and that United and U.S. Soccer had not yet made official contact. Neither club has confirmed the reports.
United sit in the relegation zone after one win in 10 league games, a 1W-5D-4L record that ESPN described as the club’s worst-ever start to a Premier League season. Carrick was made permanent manager in the offseason after serving as interim following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal in January. United have not been relegated since the 1973-74 season.
Pochettino, 54, signed a four-year extension with U.S. Soccer in August, tying him to the national team through 2030, after the Americans reached the round of 16 at the World Cup on home soil. Reports say the deal includes an escape clause that lets a major European club trigger a release fee of about $10 million. He has been linked with the United job before, in 2016, 2019 and 2024. He previously managed Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, and took over the U.S. team in September 2024.
The U.S. are due to face Haiti in a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal playoff on Nov. 14 and Nov. 17, with the first leg in Miami. If Pochettino were to join United, his first match could come against Liverpool on Nov. 22.
This report draws on coverage by ESPN and Fox Sports, which cited reporting by The Athletic.