Manchester United have a framework agreement with Mauricio Pochettino for him to become their head coach if Michael Carrick is sacked. Carrick is expected to be fired in line with the recommendation from Jason Wilcox, the director of football, and Omar Berrada, the chief executive, to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Pochettino is the US men’s national team head coach and in August signed a contract to 2030 but he wants the United job after managing in the Premier League with Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Wilcox and Berrada are meeting Ratcliffe in Monaco, where the minority owner will be informed that Carrick should lose his job. Ratcliffe controls United’s sporting policy.
There is a growing sense among United players that Carrick will be sacked, with their expectation being that Pochettino will replace him.
A United board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at which one or more of the six Glazer siblings, who are the majority owners, will be represented. There is an expectation within the executive and in Carrick’s camp that the sacking will be ratified there and that an announcement will follow.
Pochettino’s contract contains a release clause of about $10m (£7.5m), although the compensation United would have to pay will be higher if the Argentinian brings his own staff, including his longtime assistant and confidant Jesús Pérez, who has worked with Pochettino for 16 years.
Pochettino is due to take charge of the US in Concacaf Nations League matches against Haiti on Saturday and Wednesday in Miami and Cincinnati respectively, their first competitive fixtures of the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle.
The US cancelled player media access on Wednesday, citing Veterans Day for changing a schedule released five days ago.
Carrick has overseen a disastrous start to United’s season which has the club in the relegation zone. The 45-year-old has won only one game in the league, against Ipswich in August, and three in all competitions. United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton in September.