Mauricio Pochettino has been tipped to sign Real Madrid defender and former Chelsea star Antonio Rudiger for Manchester United.
Pochettino is set to take charge at Old Trafford and replace Michael Carrick, who will be sacked following a dismal start to the season.
United are just 18th in the Premier League after ten games – their lowest position at this stage of a campaign since 1986.
Old Trafford bosses held a review into Carrick’s position earlier this week and appear to have decided to make a change in the dugout.
Eddie Howe, Fabian Hurzeler, Unai Emery, Antonio Conte and Julian Nagelsmann have all been linked with the Manchester United job in recent weeks.
Get over the international break
Read exclusive analysis of the biggest stories in football with Metro's weekly football newsletter In The Mixer. Sign up now for free.
But United chose Pochettino as their first-choice pick this week and are currently finalising a deal to bring the Argentine back to the Premier League.
Pochettino, who will step down from his role as head coach of the USA to take over at Manchester United, has already worked at fellow English clubs Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea, as well as Spanish side Espanyol and French giants PSG.
One of the biggest problems for United this season has been a fragile defence and ex-Premier League striker Charlie Austin insists Pochettino ‘needs a whole new back-four’.
Austin believes Pochettino could look to sign someone like Rudiger, the Real Madrid and Germany centre-back who previously spent five years in England with Chelsea.
‘Manchester United need a whole new back-four,’ Austin told OLBG. ‘That’s first and foremost.
‘They need someone who’s going to be aggressive. They’ve got Lisandro Martinez, but unfortunately he’s injured at the moment.
‘The problem is that there isn’t just one player Manchester United needs. They’re in a sorry state of affairs at the moment. They need a whole new back-four.
‘Their back-four is exactly the same as the one they had when they got beaten 7-0 by Liverpool. So that’s your starting point?
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Pochettino went for someone like Antonio Rudiger. Someone of that ilk: experienced, knows the Premier League, still mobile and still athletic. That’s where I think they should be looking.
‘Then you can build the defence around someone like that and bring in younger players.’
Austin also wondered whether Pochettino could target his former Chelsea player Cole Palmer after taking over at Manchester United.
Palmer enjoyed playing under Pochettino and was tentatively linked with a move to Old Trafford last summer amid reports he was not completely settled at Stamford Bridge.
‘Cole Palmer was phenomenal under Pochettino,’ Austin added. ‘He was unbelievable when he first came to Chelsea.
‘I wouldn’t put it past Pochettino. Chelsea and Manchester United do seem to have a strange relationship in the transfer market.’
If appointed, Pochettino’s first game in charge of the Red Devils will likely be a daunting trip to Anfield to face Liverpool immediately after the international break.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment