Pochettino at Manchester United

Introduction

Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s job isn’t completely safe at Manchester United and with word now beginning to surface that Mauricio Pochettino will be the board’s first choice should the Norwegian be dismissed, the question is would he be a good fit?

For me, it could be. There’s certainly potential for this team to be successful under the Argentine, due to the similarities in style and qualities as his best sides at Tottenham (particularly in the 2016/17 season). Albeit, this current United side is streets above that Spurs side, however, the way in which Pochettino plays, I believe particularly our young players will flourish.

Players like Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho will be adored by Pochettino. He’s also commented publicly about his admiration for Sancho especially, as prior to a Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund, Pochettino said this about Sancho;

“He doesn’t surprise me. We knew very well that he was capable of doing what he’s doing now, with game time. The quality he was showing at Manchester City and with his national team (at age group level) — we were talking in the last few years, that he was a massive prospect to be a very good player. He is showing now in Germany that he can cope with the pressure of playing in the Bundesliga and Champions League. “And it doesn’t surprise me, his talent is there.”

Pochettino wanting some of our current squad players is also clear that he would be a good fit for the job. Obviously, he wanted Sancho but understood due to financial reasons a deal would not be possible. However, he was very keen on bringing in Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek. Ahead of the second leg against Ajax in the 2018/19 season, likewise with Sancho, Poch didn’t hold back his admiration for the Dutchman;

“Van de Beek. Nobody talks much about him. But he has a dynamic in the game, he gets behind Tadic, he arrives, he works, he scores goals. Logically, I love De Jong and De Ligt. But the example of the operation of this Ajax is Van de Beek. I like very much. They have a young player, from the academy, in each line, that shows what the team is.”

So already, there are key players in the squad that Poch likes and there’s certainly potential that he could actually begin winning silverware. In the 2016/17 season in particular, he was very close on a number of occasions when it came to winning a piece of silverware. They were only 7 points away from 1st placed Chelsea and only one game away from the FA Cup final.

Now should Pochettino inherit our current squad and along with a few signings, I believe he could go that one step further due to their being a much higher level in quality with our players. Compared to that 16/17 Tottenham side, this current Manchester United side would do wonders under Pochettino in my opinion.

So let’s talk more about Pochettino in a little bit more depth, from a stylistic and tactical point of view.

Basically, the players would have a “contract to train” whereby if they train well, then they play. Pochettino has always spoken about every squad member needing to work hard and play/train at a high intensity and with energy.

Tactically there may not be much change from Solskjær as to how Mauricio Pochettino will set United up. Pochettino has received plaudits from many people in the game as to how flexible he is, and this is evident with how he is comfortable with using more than one of these systems;

• 4–3–3
• 4–4–2 (diamond)
• 3–4–1–2/3–4–3

Although I think he will probably favour his 4–2–3–1 system that has so far been successful with Southampton, Spurs and now Paris Saint Germain. I’ll go into offensive structure and defensive structure in a little more depth later on, as I will detail the starting eleven of a potential Pochettino side.

Goalkeeper

I think there’ll be no change with the Goalkeeper situation. Very likely that Poch would stick with David de Gea. There’s no need to bring in Dean Henderson, as de Gea has recently regained his form ever since that penalty save against West Ham. Henderson is certainly a goalkeeper with potential, but I feel Pochettino will go with the Spaniard.

Under Poch, it is a requirement for the goalkeepers to be comfortable in possession but also be able to sweep off the line, due to the CBs splitting wide. Recently, we have seen de Gea be more comfortable with the idea of sweeping. Due to the 30 year old also being quite handy in 1v1 situations, this will also aid with him starting as United’s number 1.

Centre Backs

Pochettino loves his centre backs to not only be comfortable in possession, but they also have to be mean and powerful. Raphaël Varane certainly ticks those boxes, as he is dominant physically, both in the air and in a 1v1 situation. His recovery pace will also aid massively, due to Pochettino’s preference to play with a high line.

Harry Maguire will most likely be Varane’s partner. I think it would be highly likely that Mauricio Pochettino would stick with him, due to his leadership but also his aggression and also his ability in possession. His lack of pace may be a bit of a concern, however I don’t believe Pochettino would look to get rid of him as a result. This is compensated by Varane’s speed.

Full Backs

At left back, it’s pretty easy to work out who Pochettino would go with. Luke Shaw has had a tremendous revival of his career, particularly after José Mourinho left Manchester United in 2018, where Shaw was criticised and hardly played. Under Solskjær, we have seen Luke Shaw fulfill the potential that we hoped he would achieve after arriving at Southampton.

Pochettino loves his fullbacks to be key when building possession, as they have to be able to progress the ball in both the defensive and attacking areas. Luke Shaw fits the bill perfectly.

As for right back, this is interesting. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a good defender. From a 1v1 point of view, he’s excellent, particularly with his tackling and his ability in a 1v1 situation, as well as his recovery pace. However, he’s proved to be a liability in recent months, mostly from an offensive viewpoint. Wan-Bissaka unfortunately doesn’t breed confidence when he’s on the ball as he looks too shaky and lost. His attacking output hasn’t been as good as his defensive output, so I feel Pochettino will opt for Diogo Dalot.

The young Portuguese right back had a very impressive spell at AC Milan in the 2020/21 season and he has shown major improvements since his first season at Manchester United. Dalot offensively is significantly better than Wan-Bissaka, however the latter is better defensively. But, Dalot has improved defensively and there’s definitely reason to suggest that he could end up taking Wan-Bissaka’s spot.

Defensive Midfielders

First of all, the midfielders have got to be for the most part press resistant, where they’re able to receive the ball under pressure, turn and play. I think Pochettino would look to make a signing for this position, as at the moment neither Scott McTominay, Fred or Nemanja Matić can fulfill those qualities. I think Poch would look to bring in Yves Bissouma.

The Malian international would come into United’s midfield and bring a sense of defensive steel. As a comparison to both Scott McTominay and Fred, Bissouma is better than the iconic partnership of McFred in multiple areas including:

• More tackles made per game
• More interceptions made per game
• More dribbles per game

Bissouma is a much better example of a player that demonstrates high energy and work rate than someone like Fred or Scott McTominay. At the moment, Bissouma’s contract expires in 2023 and with a current valuation of roughly ₤21 million pounds (per Transfermarkt), then he’s definitely worth a shout.

As for Bissouma’s partner, most would think Paul Pogba. Honestly speaking, I’m not too sure he will be sticking around next season. So United could go into the market to try and find a new central midfielder like Frenkie de Jong.

Or we could do our research and just use van de Beek. It’s clear how much Pochettino rates Donny, as mentioned before, and the midfielder’s flexibility will aid the Argentine massively when it comes to adapting systems.

Donny van de Beek deserves a chance at Manchester United. He’s great when it comes to advancing with the ball and making those runs into advanced positions. As the more advanced player in the pivot, Donny’s football IQ will be on full display as he can cleverly link up with some of the more creative players in the final third.

Attacking Midfielders

There should be absolutely no surprises as to who Pochettino will be using as his midfield three. Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho are a deadly trio. Those three in possession are capable of playing as inside forwards, where they can operate in tight areas and create play.

Mauricio Pochettino has always been keen, particularly at his time at Southampton and Tottenham, to use promising and young English players. Rashford and Sancho fit the bill, as they’re both young and have potential to reach even higher levels under the Argentine coach.

As for Bruno Fernandes, everyone knows what he offers as a CAM. Creativity, quick thinking, flair, elegance and a fiery attitude. Very good on the ball, and like the other two attacking midfielders, energetic and willing to press aggressively at a high intensity.

Striker

Ronaldo. He could work under Pochettino as he is able to engage in tight link up play with the other three attacking midfielders and he’s also good at running into the channels, which he does quite frequently ever since his return to United. We also know how much of a threat he’d be inside the box, due to Pochettino’s preferred method of chance creation in the final third being crosses into the box.

Starting Eleven

So how will the starting eleven look under a potential Mauricio Pochettino management? Like this.

I believe this side under Pochettino would achieve great results and could really compete for silverware. There’s balance in all areas and the majority of the players starting are at a good age where they could be successful for long periods of time.