As has become the custom for Manchester United, they have sacked another manager in the window between October and January. Their decision to part with Michael Carrick this week means that their last five full-time head coaches have been relieved of their duties in the period across late Autumn and mid-Winter, dating back to Jose Mourinho’s exit in December 2021.

Since then, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and now Carrick have suffered the same fate. Christmas came early, or late, for the quintet.

United at least have the wherewithal to act swiftly to appoint Carrick’s successor. It’s been the worst-kept secret in football this week that Mauricio Pochettino is in-line to take over the reins in Manchester. The Argentine has previously been linked with the United job, and the stars have finally aligned in the club’s pursuit of the former Tottenham Hotspur man.

Pochettino has a huge job on his hands in order to restore this United side to its former glory. Indeed, 10 games into the season, and they sit 18th having won only once. Despite guiding the club to a Champions League finish after a sub-par start to the campaign with Ruben Amorim in charge, Carrick was unable to build upon his superb interim stint.

What curse?

The 54-year-old needs to pick up the pieces, and quickly, in order to haul United away from the dropzone and back up the table. Pochettino is also hoping to end a very specific curse that has plagued one player in particular for the best part of 11 years.

Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt moved to Manchester United in 2024, joining from German giants Bayern Munich. It’s fair to say the 27-year-old’s time in England hasn’t quite gone according to plan. Yes, he made 25 starts in his debut campaign, but was restricted to just 13 in the 2025/26 season. The defender is yet to feature in the Premier League this time around with injury issues playing their part.

And, to put it bluntly, his first competitive start to the season hardly went to plan as United crashed to a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Italian side Como. The performance of the team was ultimately the beginning of the end for Carrick’s time in charge.

What that does mean is that De Ligt will work under another new manager for the start of the 2027/28 season.

Yes, since the start of the 2016/17 campaign, De Ligt has worked under a new manager every season. It’s a unique record that Pochettino will hope to end once he is named United’s new coach.

The De Ligt streak

Peter Bosz was De Ligt’s manager for his first season of senior football with Ajax. A year later, Marcel Kaizer took over the reins. And in his final year in the Eredivisie, Ten Hag was De Ligt’s head coach before the centre-back left for Serie A giants Juventus.

Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the Old Lady for the start of the 2019/20 season before he was succeeded by Andrea Pirlo the following year. In his third, and final, campaign in Italy, Max Allegri was Juventus head coach.

De Ligt went on to leave for Bayern Munich in 2022, with Julian Nagelsmann in charge of the German side following his switch to Bavaria. Thomas Tuchel replaced his compatriot in March 2023, and the current England head coach would keep his place in charge of Bayern for the start of the 2023/24 season.

And after two years in Germany, De Ligt reunited with Ten Hag, this time at United. However, the Dutch boss was relieved of his duties in October 2024, and was replaced with Ruben Amorim. While the Portuguese boss hardly set the world alight in the Old Trafford dugout, Amorim kept his job for the start of the 2025/26 season, only to be replaced by Carrick at the turn of the year.

Which brings us to the present day. No matter what happens now, De Ligt will start his 12th professional season under another new manager. Pochettino will hope to make it work in the long run for United - the Premier League giants need to get the next appointment right in order to avoid another period of change - but he also might be better off looking for De Ligt buyers in the New Year, and, in the process, shift the curse elsewhere.