Mauricio Pochettino could walk into Manchester United's Carrington training ground as head coach on 19 November. That is the date now being pencilled in, four days before United play Liverpool, and it depends on one thing: whether the Argentine stays with the United States for the second of their two matches against Haiti on 18 November before he leaves.
A $10m clause, and who told United about it
The mechanics of the deal are clearer than they were on Wednesday. According to BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel, Pochettino's contract with US Soccer contains a release clause of $10m, roughly £7m, and United knew about it by Monday. One source told the BBC it was Pochettino's own representatives who made the club aware.
Talks with the 54-year-old have been running since that same day. On Wednesday United chief executive Omar Berrada rang the US Soccer Federation to confirm the clause existed and to say United intended to trigger it. Nobody in America was caught out. Pochettino had already told his employers he was speaking to United and, more to the point, that he wanted to go back to the Premier League.
What Carrick was told, and when
Michael Carrick was sacked on Thursday, but the warning signs had been delivered in person days earlier. On Monday, Berrada contacted Carrick's agent to say he and director of football Jason Wilcox were flying to Monaco to meet co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and that the head coach's future was on the agenda. Wilcox is believed to have had much the same conversation with Carrick himself on Tuesday.
Both times the message was that a recommendation would be made. What is less clear is whether Carrick's camp understood the recommendation would be to remove him. United's view is that they were as open as they could be. There is also some regret inside Old Trafford that so much of it leaked while he was still in the job, although at a club this size it is hard to see how it could have stayed quiet.
Three games to save his job
After heavy defeats by Como and Bournemouth, United's leadership told Carrick that results and performances had to pick up, and they attached particular weight to the next three fixtures: Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa. He lost the first, won the second and drew the third. Four points from nine is not a disaster on paper. Conceding eight goals across those matches was, and the hierarchy decided the team's structure had not improved enough.
United are third from bottom of the Premier League and 17th in the Champions League table. The 45-year-old had signed a two-year contract in May after winning 12 of the last 17 games as interim, though it is understood the club wrote in protection against an early exit. They wanted stability after years of churn in the dugout. He was gone within 15 matches.
The Haiti question
So the only moving part left is timing. United want their man in as soon as possible, but they are said to be respectful of the USA's two fixtures against Haiti. If Pochettino takes both, he lands at Carrington on the 19th with four days to prepare for Liverpool. If he leaves after the first, he gains a few days and US Soccer needs a caretaker for the return match.
Either way, a manager United have looked at on and off for years is finally about to get the job, at a moment when the side he inherits is in the relegation places. Carrick, for what it is worth, leaves with his reputation among supporters untouched. He handled a miserable week with a good deal more dignity than the process around him managed.
Managerial context: Mauricio Pochettino, 54, USA head coach since September 2024; release clause $10m (about £7m). Michael Carrick, 45, sacked by Manchester United on Thursday 12 November 2026, months into a two-year contract. United are third from bottom of the Premier League and 17th in the Champions League. Next league match: Liverpool, 23 November. Source: BBC Sport.
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