Manchester United Agree Terms With Pochettino While Carrick Still Takes Training

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with Mauricio Pochettino to become head coach if Michael Carrick is sacked, according to Sky Sports. The move was being finalised even as Carrick arrived for work at United's Carrington training base on Wednesday morning, unaware his successor was already being lined up behind the scenes.

The timing tells its own story. While Carrick put his squad through its paces, United's power brokers were gathering more than 700 miles away in Monaco to decide his fate. It is a stark illustration of how decisions are actually made at Old Trafford in 2026, and it raises uncomfortable questions about respect, process and control.

What We Know: The Pochettino Agreement and Monaco Summit

United's CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox met minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday for a summit originally scheduled to review the club's start to the season, Sky Sports reports. That review has now become a final decision point on Carrick's future, with Pochettino already agreed as the man to step in.

The recommendation chain

Berrada and Wilcox are required to make a formal recommendation to Ratcliffe, who holds control of football operations at Old Trafford under the terms of INEOS's minority investment. Only after that recommendation does Ratcliffe sign off on a final call, a structure that means the decision over Carrick's job was effectively being processed as a management workflow rather than a conversation with the man himself.

Pochettino has long been on United's radar. The club have held talks with the Argentine on at least two previous occasions about taking charge, according to Sky Sports, making this pursuit feel less like a sudden emergency move and more like the closing chapter of a near decade-long flirtation.

Carrick's Brutal Limbo: Training United While His Successor Is Lined Up

Carrick reported to Carrington at around 7.45am on Wednesday, before it emerged publicly that talks with Pochettino had reached an advanced stage, Sky Sports confirmed. He was, in effect, running training sessions for a job that had already been promised to someone else.

A stay of execution that never really held

Carrick was given breathing room after United's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth last month, but Sky Sports reports that momentum has since built firmly behind a change in the dugout. ESPN adds that United have already made contact with U.S. Soccer ahead of triggering Pochettino's release clause, with a meeting involving Carrick reportedly set for Thursday. That detail, if accurate, would mean United lined up a successor and informed a foreign federation before formally sitting down with their own head coach to discuss his exit.

Whatever the precise sequencing, the optics are damaging. A manager training his players on the same morning his employers were abroad finalising his replacement is not a good look for a club already under scrutiny for its handling of sensitive personnel decisions.

The Release Clause Confusion: £7m or $10m, and What It Means for USMNT

The two leading accounts of this story diverge on a key financial detail. Sky Sports reports United would have to pay around £7m to buy Pochettino out of his newly signed USA contract, and states this figure is not expected to be an issue for the club. ESPN, however, cites sources describing a $10 million release clause, with United understood to have already contacted U.S. Soccer about triggering it.

• Sky Sports: £7m release clause, not seen as a stumbling block
• ESPN: $10m release clause, with contact already made to U.S. Soccer

A ready-made appointment, if confirmed

The discrepancy, whether down to currency conversion, differing contract terms reported by separate sources, or simple confusion in a fast-moving story, is itself a symptom of how chaotic this process has become. What both outlets agree on is that Pochettino is ready to walk into the role immediately should United confirm the change, and that he is currently still due to take charge of USA against Haiti on Saturday, as things stand per Sky Sports.

That leaves U.S. Soccer facing an awkward wait to discover whether the manager it appointed after this summer's World Cup is about to be prised away before he has overseen a single competitive fixture beyond friendlies.

Why United's Season Has Reached Breaking Point

United currently sit in the Premier League relegation zone, enduring their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years, according to Sky Sports. The warning signs have been building for weeks.

Bournemouth, Villa and a dressing room under scrutiny

The 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth last month was the first result to put serious pressure on Carrick, though he survived that moment. A chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa followed, prompting sharp criticism from Roy Keane, who said Carrick "talks a lot but doesn't say much" and needs to "get moving" on fixing his team, as shown in Sky Sports coverage. For a club of United's stature, results of that nature inside a relegation fight represent a genuine crisis, not a rough patch.

What Happens Next: Timeline for a Potential Appointment

The Monaco summit was always scheduled to produce clarity on Carrick's position, and with Pochettino's terms agreed in principle, a formal announcement could follow quickly once Ratcliffe signs off on Berrada and Wilcox's recommendation. United's fixture list offers an obvious entry point, starting with a trip to Liverpool on Sunday 22 November, live on Sky Sports, followed by a Champions League visit to Sporting on 25 November.

The immediate complication is Pochettino's commitment to the USA squad for Saturday's friendly against Haiti. Whether United wait for that fixture to pass or move faster to secure their man remains one of the few genuine uncertainties left in this story. Bettors watching the new manager bounce market, relegation odds and USMNT replacement markets should expect rapid movement regardless of which account of the release clause, the Monaco timeline, or Carrick's exit meeting ultimately proves accurate.