Mauricio Pochettino has already confirmed Man Utd 'interest' as Michael Carrick sack twist emerges

Man Utd’s interest in the Argentine head coach dates as far back as 2016, with Pochettino even meeting Sir Alex Ferguson for dinner while in charge at Spurs.

In May of this year, Pochettino revealed the Red Devils’ interest was more than just rumours. He told FourFourTwo: “United have always shown interest. But the ideal scenario to manage there has never quite materialised.”

Pochettino went on to state that meeting Sir Alex Ferguson was not a job interview, but instead a younger manager picking the brains of one of the most successful coaches in football history.

He continued: “In any case, that lunch with Sir Alex had absolutely nothing to do with it.

“In his final season as a manager, we played a great game against United with Southampton. In the press conference after, he said we’d been the most complete opponent that United had faced.

“Through the secretary of the League Managers Association, he asked for my phone number so that we could have lunch. It was a meeting in London between colleagues – between a genius and an apprentice.”

Speculation linked Pochettino to the Man United job again in 2022, with the Argentine then in charge of French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Pochettino hinted that he would have discussed the possibility in more concrete terms if his situation had allowed.

He explained: “I was under contract at PSG.

“United were in a hurry to announce their new manager before the end of that season because the situation had become unsustainable. I couldn’t negotiate, whereas Ajax gave Ten Hag the flexibility to do so.”