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Rio Ferdinand has backed Manchester United to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their permanent manager next season. The Red Devils are looking for a new boss after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last Sunday.
Ferdinand thinks Pochettino will not leave Paris Saint-Germain mid-season and United will hence have to hire an interim manager until next summer.
The former Manchester United captain, however, feels confident that the Argentine tactician will take charge of the Old Trafford outfit at the start of next season. Ferdinand said on Vibe with FIVE:
"I don’t think that Pochettino leaves PSG during the season. He’s a man or integrity, he’s a man of respect. I think he’s grateful for the opportunity to be at PSG and as a man, I think he’ll just say: “If they want me that bad they’ll wait. I think from the media that we saw over the last couple of years when he was out of work, that for him Man United is the pinnacle, is the club he’d love to get to, get his hands on and guide the club."
Ferdinand added:
"He’s got a lot of stuff going on at PSG so you have to be respectful in that sense. It’s about what PSG want as well because they’re not the kind of club that will just relinquish their manager. I’m putting money on Pochettino, for the end of the season, start of next season, my money’s on Pochettino being manager."
Pochettino is one of the leading names on Manchester United's managerial candidate shortlist
Manchester United's timing of sacking Solskjaer has left the club in a major conundrum. Not many managers are sitting vacant at the moment.
Manchester United missed out on Antonio Conte, who was appointed by Tottenham last month. Amongst the eligible options - Zinedine Zidane, Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino are the favorites. The likes of Erik ten Hag and Ralf Rangnick are outside choices.
Pochettino is currently in charge of PSG and Manchester United will have to work hard to get him on board. The Argentine, in fact, was strongly linked with the United job after Jose Mourinho's sacking in 2018. He is in the middle of a huge project in Paris, but several reports have claimed that he wants to return to England.
It has been rumored that he is unhappy with the situation at the club. Pochettino reportedly wants more say in transfers and finds it tedious to manage personalities with so many big egos at the club.
A move to Manchester United is said to have interested him.
