Ornstein latest: Man United finalising Pochettino deal

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Cerys Jones (1:33)

The Athletic FC.

Emma Paton (1:38)

Hello everyone. Manchester United are finalizing a deal for Mauricio Pochettino if Michael Carrick is to be relieved of his duties. So when will a decision be made and is Pochettino the man to fix the problems plaguing Old Trafford? This is The Athletic FC Podcast.

Hi everyone. I'm Emma Paton and joining me today in the studio. Ah, what a cast. We've got the Athletics football journalist, Tim Spiers. Hello.

Tim Spiers (2:09)

Hello.

Emma Paton (2:10)

Hello. Welcome. We've got the Athletics Manchester United writer, Cerys Jones, who's been very busy.

Cerys Jones (2:15)

Yeah, and continues to be. Yes.

Emma Paton (2:17)

And down the line, also another busy man. We're joined by the guy who exclusively broke the story this morning alongside Adam Crafton and Laurie Whitwell. It is none other than the Athletics David Ornstein. Hello, David.

David Ornstein (2:29)

Good morning. Good evening. I'm not sure what time zone I'm on, but I'm with you.

Emma Paton (2:33)

Right. It is never a dull day at Manchester United or on the Athletic FC Podcast, to be fair. So David, let's kick it off. You exclusively broke the news this morning. So bring us up to speed. What do we know right now? And talk to us about how this has unfolded over the past 24 hours or so since we were last together on this very podcast.

David Ornstein (2:50)

Yeah, Manchester United are in the process of finalizing a deal for Mauricio Pochettino to become their new head coach if Michael Carrick is ultimately relieved of his duties, which we do expect to happen because yesterday's podcast or whenever we were on Together Last, people will know that we expected that this would happen because Michael Carrick, a decision was made by the Manchester United hierarchy. Their intention was to change coach.

Of course, that requires approval, sign off from ownership, which is Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers.

It's expected to happen today because they're obviously meeting in Monaco. It's been well documented. It wasn't a meeting called about this. It was pre-planned as CEOs of INEOS event. But naturally, it brings them together and gives them the ability to execute on this plan.

I think the delay on Michael Carrick has probably come because Manchester United wanted to get their ducks in a row on a replacement. And until they had that, they probably didn't want to pull the trigger, which is pretty brutal. But it is the nature of this industry. And we've seen it before at places and we'll probably see it again. In the background, Manchester United, I think a couple of weeks ago, became aware of the release clause and the conditions in Pochettino's deal with the US. Men's National Team. And so they were aware of the conditions if they decided to activate on this plan and that Michael Carrick would go. Of course, they looked into multiple possibilities and we'll come on to talk about them shortly. But it seems despite very little public speculation around Pochettino, until I think it was Sunday when he shot to the top of the betting, that he was the one that they were looking to do if and when Carrick departed. And so yesterday, I understand it, that talks took place on his personal terms and they were working through that with no expectation of any issues arising. I don't see finances being a problem. Pochettino wants it that much. There has been no contact yet from Manchester United to US Soccer, because of course they hold his contract. There's a release clause worth approximately 10 million US dollars and there would need to be further payment to take his staff with him. My understanding is that it's actually Pochettino technically that would need to activate and pay that. Of course, we've seen that with players in the past. They get the money from the club or it's reimbursed or whatever, but it's not Manchester United. But there will need to be some dialogue between Manchester United and the US Soccer Federation. But I think the Pochettino part is done. He's lined up subject to Carrick being let go. So this is evolving pretty rapidly. I think the expectation from Pochettino would be to bring his staff with him. It's not clear that he's going to manage these two USA games. He's due to, as things stand. And the latest chapter in this revolving door, musical chairs of Manchester United's managerial position is well underway.