Mauricio Pochettino and Sir Alex Ferguson (Reuters/File Photo)

More than 10½ years after a dinner at Scott’s in London’s Mayfair, Sir Alex Ferguson may finally get his wish. Mauricio Pochettino has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to become Manchester United’s manager after the club agreed to pay the $10 million release fee to the US Soccer Federation. Pochettino will oversee the USA’s CONCACAF Nations League matches against Haiti before travelling to the UK to take charge at Old Trafford, just three days before what is traditionally the biggest clash in English football: Liverpool against Manchester United at Anfield.

Back in 2016, Pochettino was spearheading a title challenge that eventually fell short against rank outsiders Leicester City. Ferguson had been so impressed by the high-energy, high-intensity style of football played by Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur side that he considered the Argentine a logical successor.

This was despite Louis van Gaal beginning to get the team to gel in his second season. However, when Van Gaal was sacked, the Glazer family, who were then solely in charge, decided they wanted to invest in a manager who could deliver trophies immediately. That man was Jose Mourinho. It did not work out. By the time Mourinho departed in late 2018, Pochettino was in the middle of a season that would see Spurs reach the Champions League final, where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool.

Since then, there have been several approaches and discussions about Pochettino taking the United job. In 2022, it was Erik ten Hag and his impressive presentation that won the day. In 2024, when Ten Hag was let go, Jim Ratcliffe’s clear preference was for Ruben Amorim and a fresh start, rather than someone who, in his eyes, had not won enough at the highest level.

That impression will follow Pochettino across the Atlantic. Apart from the trophies he won with PSG in a hopelessly lopsided French football landscape, there has been little silverware. Critics will doubtless point out that this Manchester United squad has been criticised for years for its lack of running and intensity on the field. How that translates into Pochettino’s style, which is very much influenced by his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, remains an open question.

At the same time, with midfielders such as Kobbie Mainoo, Carlos Baleba, who will return from injury next month, and Andre Santos, alongside a target man like Benjamin Sesko, aided by the pace and skills of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, there may well be the ingredients for Pochettino to plot a revival.

If he does, Sir Alex will doubtless sit down with him, perhaps over another £114 bottle of wine. On that occasion, a decade ago, the two men got into an argument over who would pay the bill. Finally, Ferguson told the younger Argentine: “I’ll let you pay if you answer this.”

The legendary Scottish manager wanted to know if Pochettino could name at least one player from the Argentina team that finished runners-up to Uruguay at the inaugural World Cup in 1930. Pochettino racked his brains and finally came up with an answer: Guillermo Stábile. For that, he had to pick up the tab, not that he would have minded.

In Brave New World, his autobiography written with Guillem Balagué, Ferguson’s name crops up 28 times, more than any other manager, despite the reservations Tottenham Hotspur had before publication. When Pochettino was asked which three British managers he would most like to play for, his answer was: “Alex Ferguson, Alex Ferguson, Alex Ferguson.”

Now, millions of United fans across the world will have to wait and see whether Sir Alex’s managerial instincts from more than a decade ago were on the money.