Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea left a series of lessons that Manchester United must consider before handing the Argentine responsibility for running their sporting project.

More than the results he achieved at Stamford Bridge, the manager’s experience in London exposed difficulties that go beyond what a manager can do on the touchline, and help explain why the choice of a manager, on its own, does not solve a club’s problems.

Pochettino finished the 2023-24 season with Chelsea in sixth place in the Premier League, after an uneven start and a consistent recovery in the closing stages. There were five consecutive wins in the final matches, as well as a League Cup runners-up finish and an FA Cup semi-final. The performance pointed to progress, but it was not enough to secure his future.

His exit, announced by mutual consent, highlighted differences over sporting planning and raised a question that also concerns United: to what extent can a manager develop his work when structural decisions are not moving in the same direction?

Pochettino will take over a United side already in motion

The possible arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at Manchester United carries a particularity that makes his Chelsea spell even more relevant. If the deal goes through, the Argentine will not take over a team at the start of a new cycle, with time for a pre-season, involvement in building the squad and gradual implementation of his ideas.

He will find a club in 18th place in the Premier League after ten matches, in a situation that demands an immediate reaction to avoid the threat of relegation and climb the table.

The scenario places Pochettino before two simultaneous responsibilities: restoring Manchester United competitively and starting to build a project that is not limited to an emergency solution. What does his experience at Chelsea teach about that balance?

At Stamford Bridge, the Argentine faced planning difficulties, worked with a deeply overhauled squad and managed to bring about a sporting recovery that, although significant, did not secure his stay.

Progress needs to start before results give any leeway

Pochettino’s Chelsea finished the 2023-24 season in a sporting condition different from the one shown in the early matches.

The recovery in the Premier League, the run of five consecutive wins and the attacking output of 77 goals indicated important progress. On the other hand, the 63 goals conceded exposed a fragility that prevented the team from reaching greater consistency.

That trajectory highlights the challenge the Argentine will face in Manchester. At Chelsea, the improvement came over a full season. At United, the margin for a gradual recovery is considerably smaller. The team is in the relegation zone, and every match without a win increases the pressure on the manager and the players.

Before establishing a fully developed style of play, Pochettino will need to restore competitiveness to a group going through a sporting crisis.

That does not mean abandoning the construction of a football model in favour of immediate results. On the contrary, United will need to find a way to reconcile the two. Improving defensive organisation, establishing pressing patterns and restoring the players’ confidence are measures that can produce effects in both the short and the long term.

Assessing the work, in this context, also requires care. The league position will be decisive at first, but it cannot be the only criterion for measuring progress. The ability to control matches, reduce errors and develop players must accompany the recovery in results.

Pochettino has a record of building competitive teams, as he showed at Tottenham, Premier League runners-up in 2016-17 and Champions League finalists in 2019. Even so, the Manchester context will demand a much more immediate response than the one he had in London.

Chelsea left a warning about stability and planning

Pochettino’s exit from Chelsea, after a significant improvement in the closing stages, is perhaps the most relevant aspect of his experience at Stamford Bridge.

The Argentine finished the Premier League in sixth place but left the club in May 2024. Differences over sporting planning and the running of the project were among the factors cited for the end of the relationship.

The episode showed that improvement on the pitch, on its own, does not guarantee continuity. A manager can revive a team, develop players and improve results, but still depend on a structure that shares his priorities and provides the conditions to sustain the work.

Manchester United must consider this aspect from day one. The club’s sporting structure, with those responsible for planning and recruitment, must work in tune with Pochettino. That does not mean concentrating every decision in the manager’s hands, but establishing in advance the transfer priorities, the sporting objectives and the limits of each professional’s remit.

The difficulty will be even greater because the manager will arrive mid-season, under pressure for results and with little room to correct structural problems. If United demand an immediate recovery but do not provide the conditions to reorganise the squad and implement his ideas, they risk repeating the cycle they intend to break.

His time at Chelsea does not invalidate Pochettino’s work. On the contrary, the team’s recovery and the performance of players under his management offer arguments in favour of the appointment. But they also show that there is a difference between improving a team and building a project capable of remaining competitive.

At Old Trafford, that distinction will be decisive. Pochettino will first need to move Manchester United away from the relegation zone, but the club cannot allow urgency to turn the work into a series of short-term decisions.