Manchester United have appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach after sacking Michael Carrick, with the club sitting in the Premier League relegation zone.
Carrick was dismissed on Thursday after United won only one of their opening 10 league matches in 2026-27, drawing five and losing four.
His final game came against Aston Villa, when United recovered from 2-0 and 4-2 down to draw 4-4. Despite that comeback, they entered the international break 18th in the table.
It is United’s lowest position after 10 top-flight games since 1986-87, when they were 20th. They are also without a win in eight successive Premier League matches, a run they last endured in April and May 2025 under Ruben Amorim.
Pochettino has been handed the task of reviving the club’s fortunes at Old Trafford, despite having agreed a new contract with the United States following the World Cup.
The 54-year-old has reportedly signed a two-and-a-half-year contract and becomes United’s eighth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013.
He will remain in charge of the USA for both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final against Haiti during this international break. Pochettino will then travel to Manchester to prepare for United’s fixture against rivals Liverpool.
United have previously held talks with Pochettino, including in 2022, but chose to appoint Erik ten Hag instead. The Argentine has Premier League experience from spells with Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea.
His most productive period came at Tottenham, where he worked from May 2014 until June 2019 and managed 202 Premier League matches.
Pochettino has overseen more Premier League games for Spurs than any other manager and his 113 victories are also a club record. That total is 43 more than the next-highest figure, with Harry Redknapp second on 70 wins.
Tottenham scored 372 top-flight goals during Pochettino’s tenure, the fourth-highest total in the division over that period. Only Arsenal, with 376, Liverpool, with 394, and Manchester City, with 470, scored more.
He also guided Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they were beaten by Liverpool.
Among managers to have taken charge of at least 30 Premier League matches, Pochettino’s 51% win ratio ranks 19th in the competition’s history.
His first fixtures with United will come after the international break. Following the meeting with Liverpool, United travel to Sporting CP in the Champions League before hosting Brentford in Pochettino’s first home match on November 28.
