Manchester United executives to settle head coach’s fate
Mauricio Pochettino a strong candidate to take over
Manchester United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, and chief executive, Omar Berrada, are expected to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Tuesday and recommend the sacking of Michael Carrick.
Wilcox and Berrada have come to the conclusion that the 45-year-old should be removed as head coach after analysing his and the team’s performance.
They are poised to inform Ratcliffe, who controls sporting policy, that a new manager is needed, with Mauricio Pochettino emerging as a strong candidate.
Pochettino, the USA head coach, is open to the position and is believed to have a break clause that would require United to pay about £7m in compensation to the US Soccer Federation. The former Tottenham manager is contracted until the 2030 World Cup. Eddie Howe remains on Wilcox’s radar.
Carrick is due to take training on Tuesday with United in the Premier League relegation zone and 17th in the Champions League standings, having recorded three victories in 15 games in all competitions. Carrick came close to being removed after the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October. But after Wilcox and Berrada met the following day at the training ground to discuss his position, Carrick was given the three games until the international break to prove he and the players could reverse a dismal start.
A defeat, a win and a draw in those matches and the displays in each, compounded with the overall run of form, have moved Wilcox and Berrada to a position where they are minded to remove Carrick. There is a growing expectation within the club that he will lose his job.
United were approached for comment.
