Mauricio Pochettino is being strongly linked with the Manchester United job with Michael Carrick seemingly on the brink of departure.
Carrick has overseen some of the worst form the club have been through in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, failing to win any of their last eight Premier League games, slipping into the relegation zone.
It should bring about a long-overdue exit for the former Red Devils midfielder, and while there aren’t a whole host of viable successors, Pochettino looks best placed of all the managers linked.
Below, we take a look at the formation, style of play and tactics Pochettino may deploy at Old Trafford should he succeed Carrick.
Formation
Throughout his career, Pochettino has largely deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, though has on occasion deployed a back three, utilising wing-backs. He did briefly return to a back three in the early days of his one season at Chelsea, but after a mixed start to life at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino abandoned the back three and reverted to the more traditional 4-2-3-1.
At Manchester United, Pochettino would likely deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation, especially given the troubles Ruben Amorim had trying to install a back-three.
Style of play
Pochettino has always been a front-foot manager, wanting his side to show physical intensity and getting the ball forward quickly. While his sides haven’t always been the most robust defensively, they have typically been dangerous going forward.
Pochettino wants his defenders and goalkeeper to be comfortable on the ball, building up from the back but recognising when to go long.
The width largely comes from full-backs, helping the wingers to drift inside to overload more central areas to support a lone striker.
One of the most crucial aspects of Pochettino’s philosophy is physical fitness, and the USA boss will have plenty of work to do in that regard should he succeed Carrick.
Tactics
Starting at the back, Pochettino has always tried to get the most out of his full-backs, relying on them to provide width in build-up. From Luke Shaw and Nathaniel Clyne at Southampton to Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, and later Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier at Tottenham, the Argentine has always focussed on his full-backs being as involved as possible.
At Tottenham, Pochettino often used one of his two central midfielders to drop into defence to help out with build up as the full-backs pushed on, with an attacking midfielder then dropping into midfield.
The Argentine wasn’t afraid to go long, either, using his advanced full-backs as outlets for long balls when needed.
It may be one of Pochettino’s first headaches should he get the Manchester United job. Diogo Dalot, despite his technical limitations, has enough physicality to get up and down the pitch, but the other two full-backs in Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui might struggle to have the required intensity.
Pochettino also wants his centre-backs to be comfortable on the ball, which may see compatriot Lisandro Martinez re-establish himself in defence after a torrid start to the season which has jeopardised his future at the club.
Pochettino then wants his side to dominate the ball in the opponents’ half, which means that when they lose possession, they should have plenty of players high up the pitch in position to quickly win the ball back.
For that, the Argentinian requires players with a quick burst of acceleration and the desire to close spaces down quickly.
While Matheus Cunha’s tendency to drift infield should suit Pochettino's system with full-backs providing width, the former Spurs boss may also like Marcus Rashford’s pace in the final third.
Even with the United States, Pochettino has deployed full-backs high and wide with his wide options playing more narrowly, something that suits both Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
In midfield, Pochettino will want someone to drop into defence, with all of Carlos Baleba, Kobbie Mainoo, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos comfortable in sitting roles; Santos would prefer to play in a more advanced role, but from a destroying, receiving/carrying and passing point of view, the other three would be preferred.
Michael Carrick preferred his number nine to be more involved in the play as opposed to leading the line, going some way to explaining Benjamin Sesko’s struggles for game time, though Pochettino will likely want the Slovenian spearheading his attack when fit.
Harry Kane evolved his game to be able to drop deeper, but one of Nuno Espirito Santo’s biggest issues in his short time at Tottenham was taking Kane away from the role that he’d carved out so well for himself under Pochettino, who would prefer a more traditional number nine.
