Chelsea fans have every reason to watch Pochettino's Manchester United career closely

Former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has agreed a deal in principle with Manchester United to become their new head coach, according to The Athletic.

The 54-year-old is set to replace Michael Carrick after just winning one of his first 10 Premier League matches, and the Red Devils are sitting in the relegation zone.

Although Pochettino is currently the USMNT manager, he is set to step down from the role to come back to the Premier League, despite his contract running until 2030.

Whilst some of his former clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham, might be a bit surprised and disappointed in Pochettino taking the job due to managing these clubs in the past.

They both would have an interest in how he performs at a club in turmoil, especially Chelsea, who, although he got some good results during his time at Stamford Bridge, the performances weren't what they wanted to see and will be intrigued to see if this carries on in Manchester.

Pochettino barely lasted one season at Chelsea, being announced in May 2023 that he would become head coach of the Blues, but even before the end of the season, the club announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways with him.

Despite getting the club European football, and winning their last five league games, it was ultimately him clashing over strategy and squad management with Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, along with seeing his request for adding experienced players to a young squad turned down, that were the final straws for the ex-Spurs man.

Comparing the two squads of Chelsea and Manchester United when Pochettino has been in charge, his Chelsea side in 2023/24 had an average age of 23.7 years, making it the youngest in the Premier League, whereas the United squad he's inherited ranks 13th among the 20 clubs, coming in at 26 years on average.

Since he left Chelsea, Cole Palmer has struggled to regain the same form that he had when Pochettino was in charge, getting 40 goal involvements across all competitions in 45 games.

To put into context how well Palmer did that campaign, in the two-and-a-bit seasons since then, he's played 98 games, and had 53 goal contributions, possibly down to the presence of having Nicolas Jackson scoring and providing goals for the Englishman.

With Manchester United's current predicament and squad, if and when Pochettino gets officially announced as manager, he will have around six weeks with this current crop of players before the January transfer window opens.

Managers at new clubs are no strangers to bringing in players from old clubs that they previously managed at, usually knowing the player's playstyle and whether they would fit the style of football they want to play.

A few of Chelsea's first-team squad want out of Stamford Bridge, and if so, Poch and United could bring them to Old Trafford to bolster their team, with players like Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill, all players who enjoyed plenty of playing time under him and could easily be targeted again if the chance arises.

Now, whilst we don't know how Pochettino is going to fare at his new club, there will be something for every one of the old clubs to keep an eye on whilst the Argentine tries to steady this wobbly ship.