Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as the new manager of Manchester United in place of Michael Carrick. 

Pochettino, 54, inherits a side languishing in the Premier League relegation zone and faces a daunting first game away against Liverpool as his first at the helm. He will remain in charge of the USA's games against Haiti flying to Manchester to start work next week.  

United are in turmoil after their abysmal start to the season and Pochettino becomes their 13th manager since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013.

They have paid Pochettino's £7million release clause to the US, where the Argentine has been in charge since 2024, and he has penned a two-and-a-half-year contract. 

Pochettino said in the USMNT's statement: 'The opportunity to represent the USA crest was one of the greatest honors of my career. We are so grateful to the players for their commitment, to the fans for their belief, and to the Federation for always supporting our staff and creating the opportunities to impact the culture of soccer in this great country.'

United's statement, published at the same time as the US' announcement of Pochettino's departure, does not feature any quotes from their new manager, or the club's hierarchy.  

The hope among United's under-pressure leadership, who have faced scorn from fans for their repeated failures, is that Pochettino's Premier League experience with Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea along with his intense style of play will drag United up the table.

As Daily Mail Sport reported on Wednesday, United agreed personal terms with Pochettino in the US following extensive talks and then made their official approach to the national team. 

The cost of bringing in his back-room team, including trusted assistants Jesus Perez and Miguel D'Agostino, takes the total outlay to more than £10million. 

United could have recruited him for nothing in the summer before he signed a new deal but they opted to make Carrick the permanent boss. 

That decision rapidly backfired following the club's worst start in 40 years and Pochettino, who has been admired by United for years, emerged as the top choice. 

Pochettino's high-pressing style, particularly at Tottenham where he led the club to second in the Premier League and a Champions League final, marked him out as one of the most promising managers in the game. 

He was then sacked by the north London club in 2019 before an unconvincing spell at PSG and mixed season at Chelsea. The Blues ended the 2023-24 campaign with a strong run of form but Pochettino then departed and took the US job, taking them to the last-16 of a home World Cup this summer. 

Pochettino now faces arguably the biggest challenge of his managerial career and takes over at a club in the mire. 

United's dressing room became increasingly difficult to manage for Carrick, with captain Bruno Fernandes publicly undermining his manager by criticising his tactics after the 4-1 drubbing by Como and Lisandro Martinez's scathing comments about Director of Football Jason Wilcox. 

Pochettino and his coaching staff will try and bring harmony back and instill confidence, which has been in short supply for weeks. 

Regular protests against the Glazer ownership and INEOS' running of the football department along with dressing room unrest and a horrendous defensive record means the new manager has his work cut out. 

Earlier in the week, the club's chief executive Omar Berrada and Wilcox flew back from Monaco, where minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ratified their decision to sack Carrick with the blessing of co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer.

Carrick arrived at United's training ground at 7.50am on Thursday morning and was dismissed. 

He left at 10.18am, less than two and a half hours later. He became the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season.

United's statement read: 'After a disappointing start to the season, the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions.

'Michael is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend. Just as he did as a player, he has conducted himself with the highest standards of dedication and professionalism throughout his time back with the club. 

'His leadership and achievements last season will always be fondly remembered.'

Sources close to United say the club's leadership believe their squad of players is far better than the performances and results under Carrick indicated. 

They gave the under-fire manager a chance to turn things around against Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa but ultimately felt the team were not on the right path.

It has been a campaign in which United won just three matches, one of which came against Azerbaijani minnows FK Sabah, and they are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league. 

Pochettino's United travel to Anfield on November 22 before a Champions League clash at Sporting Lisbon, Pochettino's first home game against Brentford and then away match at Newcastle.