Pochettino set to replace Carrick at United as dressing-room bust-up deepens crisis

Manchester United are closing in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as manager, with the club ready to trigger the $10m (£7.5m) release clause in his contract with the United States national team. The move comes as current manager Michael Carrick’s position becomes untenable, with United sitting in the Premier League relegation places.

United are understood to have attempted to finalise the deal discreetly before formally informing Carrick, with negotiations having been ongoing for several days. Despite the speculation, Carrick has continued his normal routine at the club’s Carrington training complex, arriving as usual in recent days.

Sources close to the squad suggest players feel Carrick has been “hung out to dry” as the club pursues Pochettino’s signature without officially relieving the manager of his duties — a situation that has done little to ease tensions within the group.

Those tensions have been laid bare by a reported confrontation between Youri Tielemans and Lisandro Martinez. According to the Daily Mail, the pair exchanged heated words on the return flight from Madrid after Martinez publicly criticised the United hierarchy. When asked on camera about his teammate’s remarks, Tielemans offered only a terse “No comment.” Subsequent dressing-room confrontations have further exposed the fractures within the squad.

Pochettino, who previously managed Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the Premier League, will inherit a club in significant disarray. Restoring unity in the dressing room is likely to be as pressing a challenge as arresting United’s slide down the table.

United’s pursuit of Pochettino follows reports that several squad members had lobbied for Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to be appointed. The Spaniard was at Old Trafford on Sunday as his Villa side drew 4-4 with United, a result sealed by Patrick Dorgu’s stoppage-time equaliser. Villa’s reluctance to release Emery prompted United to shift their focus to Pochettino.