The 2021/22 season hasn’t quite been a write off for Manchester United, but nor has it been anything to write home about.
There’s been a sense of two steps forward and one back throughout the campaign, firstly under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and latterly with Ralf Rangnick at the helm.
Whilst no real disasters have beset the Old Trafford outfit, save for a couple of matches where opponents wiped the floor with them, one can’t escape the feeling that, despite the standard of players they have in situ, they’ve already reached something of a ceiling.
It’s a damning indictment on the toxicity that would appear to exist behind the scenes, and with Rangnick always planning for life as a sporting director at the club, it will likely be left to the next managerial incumbent to sort the dressing room out.
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Speculation as to who that could be looks set to end with the news that Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino has already agreed to take over at Old Trafford from the beginning of next season.
Chief football reporter for Le Parisien, Dominique Severac, stated on La Chaîne L’Équipe (via Canal Supporters) and cited by PSG Talk, that Pochettino’s move was “almost done.”
“He won’t be able to say anything before the end of the season, but for me, it’s almost done,” he said.
“I’m telling you what I know. Manchester United wants him, and he wants to go […] So we are not far from an agreement.”
From the outside looking in, Pochettino has never really seemed quite the right fit for PSG and has had high-profile issues with the likes of both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Returning to the Premier League would suit him, and if he’s allowed to build United in the way he originally was at Tottenham, the Red Devils could be back amongst the elite in no time.