Argentine poised to inherit mutinous, hotchpotch squad rooted in bottom 3 after years of underachievement and managerial churn

Much like the looming heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, the mooted coming together of Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United feels like it is happening a decade too late.

Had he taken over at the peak of his powers in 2016 or 2018, following the respective exits of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, Pochettino would have inherited malfunctioning teams, but teams flirting with the Premier League’s top end, nonetheless.

Should he be confirmed as Old Trafford boss this week, following the classless defenestration of Michael Carrick, Pochettino will march headlong into a relegation fight.

So sharp and enduring has been the club’s decline since they won the last of their 20 Premier League titles 13 years ago that some supporters have suggested Manchester United would benefit from the radical reset that a season in the Championship would demand.

They could flog the rump of their hotchpotch squad, bring in young, hungry replacements and revel in the novelty of a season dusting up the likes of Portsmouth, Bristol City and Millwall, goes the argument.

Leaving aside that there is absolutely no guarantee this poorly-run United would gain promotion at the first time of asking, as the club did when they last dropped in 1974, demotion to the second tier would be financially calamitous.