Mauricio Pochettino sent a major warning to Manchester United chiefs when he was interviewed by the club about the vacant manager’s position at the club.
The Premier League giants interviewed Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino over Zoom a couple of weeks ago as they considered bringing him to the Theatre of Dreams.
United’s last permanent manager, club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was sacked in November and Ralf Rangnick has been in the job on an interim basis since.
Pochettino and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag emerged as the two frontrunners to take over at Old Trafford but the former appears to have blown his chance in an interview that The Sun say ‘did not go well’.
It is claimed that Pochettino spoke about how much money would be needed to overhaul an underperforming team and suggested he was ready to sell a number of struggling players.
But Manchester United want their next manager to instil a new playing identity rather than just focus on transfers, something that appears to have worked in Ten Hag’s favour.
It was reported earlier in the week that Ten Hag had agreed personal terms over a move to the club, with his appointment potentially confirmed as soon as next week.
While PSG look set to hold on to Pochettino for now, the French club have reportedly complained to United about the public courting of the Argentine coach.
Ten Hag will take over a Red Devils team in disarray, currently just seventh in the Premier League table and without any trophy in five years.
Former Arsenal and England winger Paul Merson has his doubts over Ten Hag, and believes United are taking a ‘big risk’ in appointing the Dutchman.
‘Ten Hag isn’t the answer for me,’ he told the Daily Star last week. ‘He is coming from a club that’s in a two-team league where you dominate every match. He doesn’t know this league.
‘I think it’s a gamble. You can’t win anything without a good manager and I’m not sure how good a manager Ten Hag is.’
