Pochettino closes in on Manchester United job as board's top-five target draws fan ridicule

Manchester United are closing in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as manager, with Michael Carrick expected to be sacked following the club’s worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years. United have won just one of their opening ten games and sit 18th in the table with eight points.

Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are set to meet co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco to confirm Carrick’s fate. Pochettino, the former Tottenham and Chelsea manager, is the frontrunner to succeed him, with United working to finalise a deal believed to be close. Buying him out of his contract with the United States national team is expected to cost the club £7.5 million.

According to BBC Sport, United’s board have privately agreed that a top-five finish remains a realistic target for the season — a position that has drawn widespread mockery from supporters. Chelsea currently occupy fifth place with double United’s points tally, while the gap to second-placed Brighton stands at 14 points.

Fans on social media were quick to challenge the board’s assessment. “We need 32 points in the remaining 28 games just to avoid relegation,” one supporter wrote. Another said: “This is how incompetent and deluded they are.” A third offered a more measured take: “It’s just not likely.”

The financial stakes make the situation all the more pressing. United recently disclosed debts of £670 million, and missing out on Champions League football — which the club qualified for this season for the first time since 2023/24 under Carrick — could cost an estimated £130 million in lost broadcast revenue and prize money.

Pochettino’s arrival is seen as United’s best hope of reversing a slump that has alarmed supporters and ownership alike, though the scale of the recovery required will test any new manager from the moment he walks through the door.