If reports are to be believed, Mauricio Pochettino is already more than halfway to building his dream starting XI at Manchester United without even taking a training session.
The outgoing U.S. men’s national team manager still has a Nations League double-header against Haiti to navigate, but some focus must be shifted toward the task that awaits him in Manchester, subconsciously or otherwise.
Pochettino officially starts on Wednesday, Nov. 18, giving him just four days to prepare for next Sunday’s trip to Liverpool’s formidable Anfield home. With such minimal time to get to grips with his new roster, it’s only human for the Argentine to rely upon his preconceptions about these individuals.
Marcus Rashford stands out as a figure Pochettino has “always loved,” according to The Telegraph. The same report lists club captain Bruno Fernandes, midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Carlos Baleba as well as the wide outlets of Amad Diallo, Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw as the players set to benefit from the incoming manager’s good graces.
The primary issue for Pochettino is that Rashford, Baleba and Shaw are all currently injured. There is hope that the England duo can recover by the end of the international break but the severity of the hamstring issue Baleba suffered during the dramatic victory over Roma would appear to have delayed his debut under Pochettino.
Fernandes stands out as an intriguing figure to favor. During United’s hunt for a new manager, some reports had claimed that certain candidates were put off by the unruly reputation of the locker room. As captain, Fernandes didn’t exactly show himself to be a reliable leader when he publicly admonished Michael Carrick’s tactics against Como.
The Portuguese playmaker took issue with Carrick’s instruction not to press—and set about charging around on his own to the wider detriment of the entire team. Pochettino has built his reputation on a high energy style predicated on pressing, which may suit Fernandes’s demands.
Energy and endurance were always used as critiques when Ruben Amorim evaluated Mainoo, but Pochettino has reportedly been able to look past any physical limitations and focus on the academy graduate’s supreme control in possession.
Quite how quickly Pochettino can coach a coordinated system against the ball remains to be seen, but one of his other principles should be easier to implement: overlapping fullbacks. From his time at Southampton—when Shaw was thriving—right through spells at Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and the U.S., Pochettino has used his wide defenders as an extra attacking outlet.
Dorgu could be critical to this approach on the left hand side given his superior athleticism and natural attacking instincts. Following his notable decline in this regard, Shaw may even be repurposed as a center back under Pochettino to tuck in behind Dorgu.
Pochettino may have some early favorites but he will have no hesitation singling out those he would rather do without, according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville.
“I actually remember going to see him at Tottenham in his very early days,” the eight-time Premier League champion told Sky Sports News. “He had a whiteboard in front of him in his office with all the players’ names on little markers and he actually moved a group of players over to the left-hand side of the board and said: ‘These are the ones I know I need to get rid of. These are the ones I know I can work with and build around.’
“He’s got to identify that very quickly at United and I’m sure he will do that. He’s more experienced now than he was when he was at Tottenham.”
Identifying the squad’s dead weight is one thing, but finding a way to offload those unwanted assets is another matter entirely.
“He’s got a big job to do in exiting players,” Neville warned. “Manchester United have been really poor at exiting players over the last 10 years. They’ve not done it very well at all.”
Since the summer of 2016—the first time United approached Pochettino, ironically enough—the Red Devils have spent around $2.1 billion on buying players, a figure only surpassed by the newly monied duo of Chelsea and Manchester City in the Premier League. Yet, over the same period, United have recouped just $605 million in player sales, the 13th-best record in the division.
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