Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick thinks Mauricio Pochettino is likely to be the club’s next permanent manager once Ralf Rangnick’s spell as interim boss comes to an end in the summer.
The Red Devils recently appointed Rangnick as the man to take the reins until the end of the season, with the German tactician looking an intriguing appointment as he takes on his first job at a truly big club.
Despite being highly rated in the game, Rangnick hasn’t coached under this kind of pressure before, and it will be interesting to see how he does in this short-term spell in charge.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, Chadwick says he thinks Rangnick looks a solid appointment, but he suspects something may already be in place for Pochettino to take over next season.
“It’s a solid appointment, it’s a bit of a strange one in terms of an interim manager replacing a caretaker manager and then leading into a permanent manager later. United must have something else in the pipeline for a manager who’s maybe not available until the end of the season,” Chadwick said.
“If I was a gambling man I’d lean towards Pochettino. He’s been heavily linked with the club in the past, we know the club think a lot of him and have courted him before.
“The way the new interim manager’s come in does sort of lend you to believe that something’s been done with another manager. We’ve seen fantastic managers come in before and it’s not gone to plan, with Solskjaer maybe coming closest with finishing second in the Premier League last season. I’m leaning towards Pochettino but anything can happen.”
Chadwick added that he feels Pochettino looks the part for his old club, praising the work the Argentine did during his previous spell in the Premier League with Tottenham.
“The job he did at Tottenham, he really got them playing. They were very close, in that strange season where Leicester won it, to winning the league with Spurs,” Chadwick said.
“I think the brand of football he played was exciting, he got results in Europe as well, getting Tottenham to a Champions League final. He seems like a big character as well, the way he speaks to his players and the relationships he’s built.
“He seems like the right fit for Manchester United. He’s had a bit of a tough time in Paris, but then every manager’s had a tough time there with those big players they’ve got and the strange situation with a not particularly strong league.
“I’m sure he’ll want to challenge himself in the Premier League again, having come close to winning it with Spurs.”