The new Paul Scholes will officially be finished at Man Utd when Poch arrvies

Michael Carrick‘s love for Manchester United cannot be called into question. From the moment he took charge at the start of 2026, the 45-year-old married his love and understanding of the club with a depth of tactical knowledge that surpasses that of, say, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But, sadly, the wheels came off this season. Carrick’s system fell by the wayside and he leaves with the Red Devils down in 18th place in the Premier League.

It shouldn’t take much to raise the level of performance that has pervaded across the squad, but in Mauricio Pochettino, United may well have the perfect man for the job.

How Pochettino will improve Man Utd

Former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Pochettino brings to Manchester United a wealth of experience, first-class man management qualities and a track record of raising standards on the field.

REUTERS/Jeff Curry

This can all be wrapped into the single ideological value of club culture. This is where Pochettino thrives, and the foundations set at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain perhaps precluded him from achieving the kind of success he found with Spurs, taking a team of underperformers and fashioning them into challengers both at the top of the Premier League and the Champions League.

It’s been a real test to sustain form at Man United, but Carrick showed last season after replacing Ruben Amorim that this team know how to win football matches in the Premier League.

In Pochettino, INEOS are welcoming a higher quality of tactician, but one whose romance with United spans back a decade. He will have given his potential tenure at the side plenty of thought.

Of course, Man United’s problems run deep, and Pochettino is going to have to make some tough choices going forward, cutting out some of the deadwood that has plagued this outfit for far too long.

The biggest losers under Pochettino

Pochettino’s system, wherever it may be implemented, is reliant on explosive attacking full-backs. In Patrick Dorgu, Man United might have someone who fits the bill, and could finally realise their potential at the club.

However, Luke Shaw is surely finished. Out of contract next summer, the veteran left-back (who burst onto the scene with Pochettino’s Southampton over a decade ago), is slow and would be an ill fit in the new manager’s system.

In all honesty, the United backline needs ripping up and reshaping. Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot have toiled away for too long, and neither should have a central role in the new long-term vision.

In midfield, Pochettino prizes mobility, strength and intensity. In this, Youri Tielemans may already be in danger after his summer move from Aston Villa, but he’s not the only midfielder in trouble, with Man United’s new version of Paul Scholes likely into the final stretch of his disappointing stint at the club.

The new Paul Scholes is finished at Man Utd

Scholes is one of the greatest midfielders in English football history. His passing and composure made him the linchpin for a multi-title-winning Manchester United team, but despite sharing some attributes with the retired star, it looks like United’s new version has failed to offer even a flicker of that quality.

Indeed, Mason Mount‘s high points at Old Trafford have been few and far between. The 36-time England international, who has not played for his country in four years, arrived for big money and with big expectation from Chelsea in 2023, but he’s never recovered the form which saw him rise to prominence with the Blues in London.

Remarkably, Mount has never created an assist for Man United in the Premier League. Time was Mount was considered one of England’s most talented playmakers, but it’s clear now he’s never going to live up to the billing, more than three years after that lofty £60m transfer.

Pochettino, it should be mentioned, was months into his Chelsea tenure when BlueCo authorised Mount’s sale to Old Trafford. The Argentinian did not view the midfielder as central to his plans, with a frustrating final Premier League season with Chelsea seeing him score only three times across 34 appearances, 20 starts.

This once coveted midfielder had the world at his feet, but he’s flaked away, and while stylistic qualities on the ball and his sublime first led Roy Keane to suggest that he’s “a bit like Paul Scholes“, there’s no question that what he boasts in style, he has failed to apply and sustain at Man United.

Already this season, Mount has struggled for minutes under Carrick, and it’s hard to see Pochettino’s high-energy midfield plans land Mount the starring role he has searched for right from the get-go at Man United.

Given that Mount is into the penultimate year of his bumper contract, it feels probable that cashing in in 2027 and applying the funds to a new, more suitable midfielder could be among Pochettino’s biggest priorities in the transfer market.