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5 months ago
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Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly keen to continue managing in the Premier League amid reports that Erik ten Hag will be sacked as Man United manager following Saturday's FA Cup final.
Pochettino was at the centre of a media storm earlier this week - with the Argentine leaving Chelsea by mutual consent despite guiding his side to sixth and securing European football with five straight victories to end the 2023-24 season.
Another storm rolled in on Friday as news broke that United plan to dismiss Ten Hag regardless of Saturday's result against Man City at Wembley.
Pochettino was already the favourite (11/10) to succeed Ten Hag at Old Trafford before the reports emerged.
And the Evening Standard claim the Argentine is open to a quick return to work and would prefer to continue in the English top flight.
United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company Ineos are said to be admirers of Pochettino, who was among the coaches invited to the birthday celebrations of Sir Dave Brailsford — INEOS director of sport — this year.
According to The Guardian, Ratcliffe and Ineos have decided to dispense with Ten Hag even if they upset the odds and beat City.
Thomas Tuchel Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and Graham Potter are also reportedly being considered as a replacement for Ten Hag.
The move would represent the most decisive action since Ratcliffe and Ineos completed their purchase of a 27.7 per cent stake from the Glazer family last December, taking over control of football operations.
They have wasted no time in reshaping United's executive structure and sketching out plans to rebuild Old Trafford but have remained non-committal over Ten Hag's future in recent weeks.
The only way United can qualify for European football next season is by beating City, which would earn them a spot in the UEFA Europa League.
After a strong first season in charge after joining from Ajax, which saw Ten Hag guide United to a third place finish in the Premier League and Carabao Cup success, they have slipped backwards.
United's European campaign was over by Christmas after they finished bottom of a group featuring Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Galatasaray, while Newcastle knocked them out the Carabao Cup.
They lost 14 Premier League matches and finished with a negative goal difference, ending up eighth, some 31 points shy of champions City and eight points off qualifying for the Champions League.
In the FA Cup, United defeated Liverpool in the quarter-finals but required penalties to overcome Coventry City in the semi-finals after throwing away a 3-0 lead.
The poor season came after more considerable investment in Ten Hag's squad with an initial £64million spent on striker Rasmus Hojlund, £55m on midfielder Mason Mount and £43.8m on goalkeeper Andre Onana.
In Ten Hag's mitigation, he has grappled with an injury crisis throughout the season which has seen him short of first-choice players in several key areas.
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