Man Utd finally landing Mauricio Pochettino to replace Michael Carrick would be the first managerial decision the Red Devils have got right in years

United have also been heavily linked with Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann, both of whom are available for hire after leaving their previous roles with Newcastle and Germany, respectively, in the summer. Earlier this month, it was reported that Howe was Jason Wilcox's 'preferred candidate' to succeed Carrick, which should have raised instant alarm bells.

Since being drafted in as director of football, Wilcox has repeatedly proven his judgement cannot be trusted, putting a ridiculous three-tiered recruitment plan in place that has set the Red Devils further back than ever before. Howe did a fine job in his previous roles at Newcastle at Bournemouth, but his underdog coaching style does not suit a global powerhouse like United.

Nagelsmann, meanwhile, flopped spectacularly with Germany, and only delivered one expected Bundesliga title in his 19 months in charge at Bayern Munich. His man-management skills have often been criticised too, while some have accused him of deploying overcomplicated tactics.

United will have to pay $10 million (£7.5m) to trigger the escape clause in Pochettino's contract with the United States men's national team, but he doesn't come with any other baggage. The Argentine has the personality and know-how to give the dressing room an immediate lift and oversee a project that has proper legs.

Pochettino was earmarked as United's number-one choice after Jose Mourinho's dismissal in December 2018, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer eventually got the role. In the spring of 2022, the former Tottenham boss found himself in a direct head-to-head race with Ten Hag, and the Dutchman was ultimately deemed the best option for a long-term rebuild. Two years later, United reviewed Pochettino again following his departure from Chelsea, only to inexplicably stick by Ten Hag.

When you consider the fact that Ten Hag was responsible for signing the likes of Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and Lisandro Martinez, and that United never had any clear playing identity during his two-and-a-half years at the helm, it's safe to say they'd be in a much healthier position now had Pochettino got the nod.

Perennial underachievers Spurs became genuine Premier League title contenders under his tutelage, and Pochettino was on course to make a similar impact at Chelsea before seeing his tenure cruelly cut short. He also guided Southampton to eighth place in 2013-14, their highest finish in 11 years, and left a lasting impression on Ferguson before his retirement.

United beat Southampton 2-1 in January 2013, 12 days after Pochettino's arrival, and Ferguson described the Saints as "the best team to have played at Old Trafford this season". Three years later, towards the end of Pochettino's second season at Spurs, Ferguson called him "the best manager in the Premier League" and said, "You never see him ruffled and the way his team play is a testimony to the work he is doing."

The pair subsequently met for dinner in London, when Louis van Gaal was on the brink of being axed at Old Trafford. In the end, United turned to Mourinho to take the team forward, but Pochettino's name has been linked to the club ever since. "I’ll always remember each and every detail from those hours of conversation," Pochettino recalled in his book ‘Brave New World’. "It was a dream come true."

Ferguson reportedly backed Pochettino for the United hot seat in 2022, and his long-standing appreciation for the 54-year-old hasn't dwindled. Pochettino hasn't shied away from his unofficial connection to the Red Devils, either, and has admitted he feels that he has unfinished business in the Premier League.

"United have always shown interest. But the ideal scenario to manage there has never quite materialised," he told FourFourTwo in May. "I've always said I came so close to winning the Premier League and Champions League, and want to try again. I’d like to be part of a project with the ambition of winning both."

Pochettino made those comments before the 2026 World Cup, which didn't go to plan for the U.S. on home soil. After breezing through the group stage and dispatching Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first knockout phase, the Stars and Stripes were sent packing by Belgium in a humiliating 4-1, round-of-16 defeat.

The standard of football had certainly improved, with the players buying into Pochettino's high-pressing ideology, but the U.S. still fell short when it really mattered. It could be argued that Pochettino was fortunate to receive a new contract offer after the tournament, because the squad was talented enough to do better.

In the absence of any firm offers from top European clubs, Pochettino signed on for another four-year cycle. But the opportunity to return to the highest level of club coaching will surely prove too strong to turn down, with it widely reported that he is very much open to joining United. As a young coach with lofty goals, Pochettino's talents are somewhat wasted with the U.S., who are still a long way from challenging the elite nations for the biggest honours and are unlikely to enhance his legacy.

Reviving United, on the other hand, would be career-defining, potentially putting Pochettino up there with Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique in the elite coaching bracket. Due to a scarcity of trophies, Pochettino hasn't come close to that level yet, with Ligue 1 and Coupe de France wins at Paris Saint-Germain not counting for much given their dominance of French football.

It's obviously a huge risk given the chaos that has engulfed United in the post-Ferguson era, but Pochettino has the skillset to be a success at Old Trafford. His first brief will be to simply deliver consistency and a distinctive style, as he did at Tottenham, and if he were to be given freedom to mould the squad in his image from there, anything is possible. That is a big 'if', though...

It would surprising if Pochettino signed for United under the same terms as Carrick and Amorim, who deferred final authority on transfers to Wilcox. That cannot happen again, and Pochettino also needs assurances that the club will not continue to be so tight on the purse strings.

The Argentine tactician famously fell out with ex-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over his cautious approach to recruitment, and urged them to "behave like a big club" to have any hope of winning trophies. United must do that now to have any hope of breaking back into the top six.

Mired in debt because of the Glazer family, the Red Devils are operating on a limited budget, but extra funds can be raised through player sales. Marcus Rashford, Mount, Martinez, Ugarte and Zirkzee could, and should, all be transfer listed in January, having brought nothing to the table for far too long.

Any available resources must be used with far greater care, too; United threw £50m away when signing Andrey Santos from Chelsea, Carlos Baleba's fitness has let him down since his £70m switch from Brighton, which is a failure of due-diligence, and the £35m Youri Tielemans looks past his best at 29. These are all Wilcox signings, and he also defied Amorim to push for the the injury-plagued Benjamin Sesko for £74m instead of Ollie Watkins last year.

Wilcox also interfered with team strategy when Amorim was at the club, and must be stripped of his power, or better yet, ousted completely. If Carrick must be held responsible for United's dismal form, so too should the former Leeds winger, who only had one year's worth of experience as a football director at Southampton under his belt before INEOS brought him to Old Trafford.

Allowing the same level of unconditional autonomy that Ferguson enjoyed in the modern game is unrealistic, but Ratcliffe will have to trust Pochettino to be the coach and manager.

Pochettino overachieved in all of his other Premier League jobs, even at Chelsea, who he led to sixth in the Premier League and back into Europe after inheriting a squad that had finished 12th the previous season. The Blues also reached the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals on his watch, while he transformed Cole Palmer into a superstar.

That's another reason Pochettino is perfect for United, whose record with the development of young players has been terrible in more recent times. Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dele Alli became one of the Premier League's most effective trios when Pochettino was at Tottenham, and he brought a 17-year-old Luke Shaw through at Southampton.

"He's good at making you feel good and trying to get the best out of you," Palmer said to the BBC in 2024. That applies to established players, too, with Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Conor Gallagher and Marc Cucurella among those to have hit new heights thanks to his guidance.

United may have found the perfect mentor for prospects like Kobbie Mainoo, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, and for attackers whose end product has been maddeningly sporadic, like Mateus Cunha and Amad Diallo. Even more crucially, Pochettino will bring the tactical structure that is so desperately required.

His teams defend as a singular unit, with one player hunting the ball carrier while others cut off passing lanes. This approach demands strict discipline, but can go a long way towards masking the individual flaws at the back. In stark contrast, Carrick's patient 'half-press' system just gave the players an excuse to slack off.

In attack, Pochettino favours a fluid 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation that relies on full-backs to stretch the pitch, with wingers functioning more like dual No.10s, which should go a long way to helping Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu excel. His ultimate aim is to overload the centre of the pitch and look for direct, defence-splitting passes, with an aggressive, front-footed style prioritised over methodical passing.

In the short term, high-intensity football is the only way for United to start winning games again, and it aligns with the club's historic values. If anyone can whip this wretched group into shape, it's Pochettino. If he's left to his own devices, he may also be the man who finally breaks the cycle of failure.