Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada and co-owner Joel Glazer are in agreement over appointing Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s next manager, but a final decision will be made by the Red Devils’ director of football, Jason Wilcox, according to a report.
Michael Carrick’s time as Man Utd manager is coming to an end, with the club’s co-owners, INEOS, set to sack him this week.
Man Utd are in the Premier League bottom three, and the club’s hierarchy have lost confidence in him.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace Carrick as Man Utd manager.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has reported that Pochettino and Eddie Howe are among the top candidates for the Man Utd managerial role.
Wilcox has long favoured Man Utd to appoint former Newcastle manager Howe should Carrick be sacked.
READ: Glazers make big call on Mauricio Pochettino to Man Utd as doubts emerge among US insiders
Mauricio Pochettino has Man Utd trio backing him
According to TEAMtalk, Wilcox has now added Pochettino to his shortlist.
The reliable transfer news outlet has claimed that Man Utd CEO Berrada and co-owner Joel Glazer, too, are in favour of Pochettino getting the managerial role.
The report stated: ‘In the meantime, Wilcox is expected to put forward his preferred succession plan, with Pochettino and Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe emerging as his two leading candidates.
‘Howe had previously been Wilcox’s favoured option ahead of Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte, while Pochettino has influential admirers within the club, including Ferguson.
‘While Ratcliffe is believed to favour an English appointment – therefore, Howe – he will listen to the guidance of others and is prepared to leave Wilcox to have the ultimate say.
‘The club’s co-owner Joel Glazer, alongside Berrada, is also understood to favour Pochettino’s appointment, and discussions on Wednesday are expected to focus on the merits of the Argentine and Howe in particular during the Monaco summit.’
Omar Berrada wanted Mauricio Pochettino at Man City
Journalist Guillem Balague has also reported Berrada’s admiration of Pochettino, claiming that the Man Utd CEO had the Argentine manager on his list of potential replacements for Pep Guardiola when he was working at Manchester City
Balague wrote on X at 1:35pm on November 10: “Pochettino and Manchester United have spoken before, and the timing was never right
“Conversations with United took place on at least three occasions.
“The first came when Jose Mourinho was sacked. The second came when Erik ten Hag was chosen, with Pochettino the other name on the shortlist.
“The third came when Ten Hag was sacked This time something is different.
“There is a buyout clause of $10 million If United want him, and he has a soft spot for the club, money is the only barrier left
“Since we wrote Brave New World together, I have seen a manager who has learned even more about the bigger picture.
“But the essence of him was already on those pages. He thinks about the whole club, from the first team to the way decisions get made upstairs.
“He can help build the structures that allow a team to stay consistent at the elite level, and that is what United have lacked for a decade
“There is a fit with the people at the club too. Omar Berrada is a fan.
“When Manchester City drew up a shortlist to replace Pep Guardiola, some City supporters, including Omar, argued for Pochettino to be on it
“There are plenty of clues about his feelings for United in the book He was at the stadium in 1999 when United won the Champions League.
“Alex Ferguson whom he had a memorable dinner while he was in charge of Spurs, is mentioned 28 times, more than any other name in the biography
“Spurs tried to push back and cut those references. Pochettino and I talked it over and decided that none of it would be touched.
“That shows how much it mattered to him United are starting over now that Carrick is on the verge of being sacked
“The right profile is someone with his own experience who is still energetic and creative, and who knows exactly what an elite club looks like
“Having grown Spurs and having worked at PSG, Pochettino has that picture in his mind Plus, a seducer that he is, he will conquer the souls that might have doubts about him”
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