Christophere Vivell committed a “sackable offence” in the summer as Michael Carrick waits patiently to be given his Manchester United marching orders.
Carrick took training on Wednesday while director of football Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada jetted off for their regularly scheduled meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe to ratify the decision to sack him.
Meanwhile, Man Utd have reportedly reached a ‘full agreement’ with Pochettino to become their new manager.
Marca’s Matteo Moretto wrote on X: ‘Mauricio Pochettino will be Manchester United’s next manager: the parties have reached a full agreement pending Michael Carrick’s dismissal.’
Three centre-back targets have reportedly been identified for the January transfer window after conceding more goals (30) than any other club in the top five European leagues in all competitions this season.
A report claims Carrick signalled his desire for further recruits to Wilcox during Man Utd’s summer training camp in Dublin but was denied further investment after £150m was spent in a suspect midfield rebuild.
Peter Schmeichel believes Carrick deserves the January transfer window after being dealt a duff hand by the club bosses and Jamie Redknapp insists someone needs sacking over the signing of Andrey Santos.
The Brazilian joined in a £50m move, which it was later revealed caught Chelsea by surprise as much as anyone, as they valued the 22-year-old at around half that fee.
“Can I throw one player at you? And this is no disrespect to the boy, because he’s not a bad player, but whoever brought in Andrey Santos, that for me is a sackable offence,” Redknapp said on The Overlap Daily.
“He is not a Manchester United player. He’s a decent player, he’s okay. But they brought [Youri] Tielemans in just after it.
“What makes them think, ‘Okay, I’m going to get two midfield players’, when I’ve got [Kobbie] Mainoo there – three very similar players that haven’t got any athleticism to get round the pitch?”
When it was point to him that Manchester United’s director of recruitment Christopher Vivell knew Santos from his previous spell at Chelsea, Redknapp added: “Even worse, then. I’d let them off the hook if they didn’t know him.”
Liverpool hero Steven Gerrard had previously criticised Manchester United’s pursuit of Santos, who was little more than a squad player at Stamford Bridge.
“I’m not sure Andrey Santos was the right signing for Manchester United at £50m,” Gerrard said last month.
“I just think to play in Manchester United’s midfield every single game, every single weekend, you’d expect to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League.
“Santos, he’s a good player, but for me, he’s not a Manchester United player. I think he’s a bit short, that would be my opinion. United’s midfield is way off the level, it’s way off.”
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