Mauricio Pochettino interested in leaving US job for Manchester United

US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is interested in a move to Manchester United, according to multiple sources who also described the club’s interest as mutual.United are expected to sack head coach Michael Carrick after a disastrous start to the season which leaves them at risk of relegation from the Premier League, their worst opening to a campaign in four decades.Securing Pochettino’s services is far from simple or inexpensive. The Argentinian coach’s US contract contains a release clause in the region of $10 million (€9 million), details which were first reported by The Athletic. The figure grows should United choose to retain Pochettino’s staff, including his long-time assistant and confidant Jesús Pérez, who has worked with Pochettino for 16 years.Pochettino was brought on by the US in 2024 and guided them to a last-16 finish at the 2026 World Cup. By most accounts, the result was seen as a disappointment. However, he signed a new contract with US Soccer in August, bringing him up to 2030, with both sides expressing a mutual belief and commitment towards brightening the fortunes of the senior men’s side and overhauling the federation’s approach towards youth development.READ MORE“Every time we sign a contract, it’s to go to the last day of the contract,” Pochettino told reporters after his contract renewal. “If we sign a four-year contract, we need to think to arrive there. And we signed the contract because we really believe that we are going to be four years there. Because if not, it’s bad. If we don’t believe in that process, if we don’t believe in that journey, why sign [for] four years? Only to be sure that we are going to receive a salary at the end of the month? That is not nice. It’s not the way that we think. We really signed that contract because we really believe that we can arrive to the end.”Pochettino, who has been linked with a host of high-profile club openings since his arrival in the US, tempered those remarks by adding: “In life, nothing is sure. Less in football.”The US will play Haiti twice in the Concacaf Nations League over the coming days in their first competitive fixtures of the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle. Pochettino is scheduled to address reporters on Friday afternoon. – Guardian