Craig Burley believes that Manchester United will definitely now be considering an approach for one manager following an announcement on his future this week.
Manchester United will surely be one team to watch over the summer, with INEOS set to be properly involved in a transfer window for the first time at Old Trafford.
But of course, there seems to be a real question mark over the future of Erik ten Hag after such a disappointing season on the pitch, with United registering their lowest ever Premier League finish.
Rio Ferdinand believes that ten Hag will not be Manchester United manager next season, regardless of what happens in the FA Cup final.
Pundit believes Manchester United will now consider Mauricio Pochettino
And perhaps the decision of a Premier League rival this week may not help ten Hag’s cause, with Chelsea announcing that Mauricio Pochettino is leaving after one year at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino seemed to help Chelsea turn a corner towards the end of the season, with the Blues winning their last five games. Nevertheless, he is now a free agent once again.
And speaking to ESPN, Craig Burley believes that Pochettino will almost certainty be in contention for the Manchester United job now.
“Well, there’s not too many others out there that are of any note at the moment, one or two. They’re starting to get their structure in place, I’m not sure what the current situation is with Dan Ashworth, the guy who’s coming in from Newcastle who is well regarded in the role that he’s been at Brighton and Newcastle and other clubs, how quickly they’re going to get that gardening leave sorted,” he said.
“But yeah, you’re definitely thinking about him, because the ten Hag situation, I think his position is pretty much untenable. We’re a few days away from a potential walloping in an FA Cup final which will finally probably see him out the door for sure, I would imagine. And yeah, bearing in mind who’s out there, then Pochettino’s name; you’re not going to Pochettino straight away, it’s not like it’s Klopp or Guardiola, but there is a dearth. You have the conversation.”
What rival bosses have said about Argentinian this season
Pochettino’s stock has definitely fallen since the days when Tottenham Hotspur were in contention for the Premier League title. However, he is clearly very rated by his peers.
Ange Postecoglou labelled his impact at Tottenham ‘unbelievable‘, while Pep Guardiola suggested that he is definitely one of the top managers in the Premier League, and insisted that Chelsea would improve with him at the helm.
There is plenty of pressure on when INEOS do come to make their first managerial appointment after more than a decade of mediocrity at Manchester United now.
It would be interesting to see if they deem Pochettino to be the right man to take them forward.