MANCHESTER, England (AP) — In the end it came down to a choice of one.

From the moment Manchester United was aware of Mauricio Pochettino’s availability he stood alone — the only candidate as the troubled Premier League club went in search of a new coach.

United’s hierarchy had assumed Pochettino, like Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, was out of reach.

Emery also has big admirers at United after transforming Villa from a relegation-threatened team to a serial Champions League challenger, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect relationships. But the Spaniard, under contract and without a release clause, was simply not an option.

The same was thought of Pochettino after he signed a four-year deal in August tying him to the U.S. men’s national team through the 2030 World Cup.

United knew him well. He had been a leading candidate for the job in 2022 when Erik ten Hag was ultimately hired. And he left a lasting impression as recently as the summer of 2024 when, under a new sporting leadership, United considered firing Ten Hag and spoke to a range of contenders, Pochettino included.

It was determined then — on both sides — that the timing wasn’t right so soon after his brief spell in charge of Chelsea, the person said.

Now, with Pochettino re-energized by his experiences with the U.S., including a run to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup, the timing is right.

United was finalizing the details of Pochettino’s appointment on Thursday, with his appointment expected to be confirmed imminently, said the person, who also detailed United’s pursuit of the Argentine coach this week.

Work has been underway to conclude the deal once United was made aware of a break clause in Pochettino’s recently signed contract, with due diligence carried out before coach Michael Carrick was fired on Thursday.

Confident that Pochettino wanted to take on what has increasingly looked like an impossible job, it was a matter of informing the U.S. soccer federation of its intention to move for a coach, who did so much galvanize the nation during the World Cup. That formal approach came on Wednesday, the night before Carrick was relieved of his duties, the person said.

By that stage rumours had already been swirling around Pochettino and the odds on him to become United’s eighth permanent coach or manager in 13 years had been slashed.

There has been criticism of United’s handling of the process, making Carrick wait until Thursday to learn his fate that had been long-trailed.

The delay had been due to various reasons. Firstly, no decision could be made until an internal review had been carried out. The person said Carrick had been kept informed about the process.

It wasn’t until a meeting with minority owner Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox made the recommendation to change the coach and the decision was made. Berrada and Wilcox returned to Manchester on Wednesday night and rather than inform Carrick by phone, chose to tell him face-to-face at a meeting at the club’s training ground on Thursday morning, according to the person’s description of events.

It is unlikely to have come as a surprise to Carrick, even if he was less than six months into a two-year contract.

He had overseen United’s worst start for 40 years. With only one win in 10 games the 20-time English champion sits 18th in the standings, in the relegation zone.

Another person with knowledge of the decision-making process said the results were simply “not acceptable for Manchester United” and a change had to be made.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to do so publicly.

Barring a late hitch, Pochettino’s first game in charge will be against Liverpool on Nov. 22.

He will be the latest in a long line of candidates charged with the responsibility of bringing the good times back to a club that for so long dominated English soccer.

It has not won the Premier League title since Ferguson’s final season in 2013 and has been overtaken by rivals like Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Pochettino, who won the French title with Paris Saint-Germain and turned Tottenham into a Premier League title challenger, had an underwhelming experience when last in England for one season with Chelsea in 2023-24.

Chelsea ended sixth in the standings, missing out on Champions League qualification and beaten by Liverpool in the final of the English League Cup to leave Pochettino still without a major trophy in English soccer.

Both United and Pochettino will hope that, together, they can snap that streak.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

See AP’s full soccer coverage here