Manchester United Boss Lirik Mauricio Pochettino Replace Erik Ten Hag

Mauricio Pochettino is targeted by Manchester United (Instagram/@pochettino).

JAKARTA - Mauricio Pochettino officially left Chelsea. Manchester United boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe immediately included the Argentine architect as Erik ten Hag's replacement.

Previously, Pochettino had been a competitor to Ten Hag as United coach in April 2022. At that time, the 52-year-old coach would leave Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Manchester United at that time preferred Ten Hag because he was considered to have a good idea to boost the team's achievements.

In the first season, 2022/2023, the Dutch coach brought United to finish third in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup.

However, things have capsized this season by finishing eighth in the Premier League and being knocked out of the Champions League group stage.

Manchester United actually still have hope of winning trophies this season. They will fight in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium against Manchester City on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

The problem is, win or not in the FA Cup final, Ten Hag has a big chance of being kicked out by Ratcliffe.

The owner of the new minority stock of The Red Devils is throwing a signal that he will not keep Ten Hag. He refused an interview with Sky Sports and continued to give a vote of trust to Ten Hag.

In fact, The Sun reported that Ratcliffe immediately included Pochettino as the main candidate.

The Argentine is a popular manager with an attractive style of play. He brought Tottenham Hotspur to the 2019 Champions League final.

Losing that, Spur beat Ten Hag's Ajax with a superb comeback in Amsterdam's semi-final second leg.

Although Pochettino is on the priority list, Manchester United has prepared alternatives.

Kieran McKenna's name is another option after bringing Ipswic to the Premier League next season.

Another alternative is Enzo Maresca who also brought Leicester City promotion to the Premier League as champions of the 2023/2024 Championship. Maresca is somewhat easier to achieve because there is no certainty from Leicester next season.

Apart from the two names, there are actually other candidates for Manchester United manager next season.

For example, Roberto De Zerbi, who is now in charge of Brighton and Sebastian Hoeness, is an emodanoi Stuttgart.

Then, there is also the former manager of the German national team, Hansi Flick, and returns Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.