Defensive nightmare forces its word: Pochettino identifies his first signing at Manchester United

At a time when Mauricio Pochettino is preparing to take on one of the toughest challenges of his coaching career, it appears the Argentine manager has already begun sketching out the details of his new project with Manchester United, placing the strengthening of the defensive line at the top of his priorities, in an attempt to rescue a team suffering from successive defensive crises and drifting away from the image it was accustomed to presenting.

According to the "Sky Sports" network, citing The Telegraph newspaper, Fulham defender Calvin Bassey has emerged as one of Pochettino's top targets for the upcoming winter window. The move reflects the incoming coach's desire to fix one of the Red Devils' most glaring weaknesses this season.

United rate the Nigeria international highly. He offers a ready-made option to shore up the centre of defence thanks to his physicality and his ability to win direct duels, and he brings an added bonus: he can also fill in at left-back.

That flexibility matters more than ever given United's problems down the left flank, especially with the injuries that have plagued Luke Shaw. Signing a player who can solve more than one problem may well be a priority for the new technical staff.

Bassey's appeal does not stop at his ability on the pitch. The 26-year-old's contract with Fulham expires at the end of the current season, with a clause allowing it to be extended by a further 12 months.

That situation could hand United the chance to move for the deal. Everything, though, hinges on whether Fulham are willing to part with a key defender in the middle of the season.

The timing of United's interest could hardly be more sensitive. Their results have exposed clear fragility at the back, with the team shipping goals at an alarming rate and struggling to find any stability on the pitch.

Only one team in Europe's top five leagues has conceded more goals than Manchester United this season. Their net has been breached 30 times across all competitions, a figure that lays bare the scale of the job facing Pochettino.

The 54-year-old is expected to take charge of Manchester United in the coming period. The fixture against Liverpool on 22 November, straight after the international break, looms as an early test of his ability to get the team back on track.

United's board sacked former coach Michael Carrick after a disastrous start to the campaign. The team managed just one win in the first ten rounds of the Premier League, slipping to eighteenth place, a relegation spot, with eight points.

Nor was the crisis confined to the league. United have also struggled in the Champions League, where they sit seventeenth in the league phase on six points after two wins and two defeats.

A resounding 4-0 win over Azerbaijan's Sabah got their European campaign up and running. Then came a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, followed by a heavy 4-1 defeat against Como, before United steadied themselves with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Roma in the fourth round.

Even so, their position is far from secure. They sit just two points off twenty-fifth place, the last safe berth for qualification to the next phase.

Tough tests lie in wait. It starts with Sporting Lisbon on 25 November, followed by a run of fixtures against Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Villarreal.

Caught between the race to rescue the season and the need to rebuild, Pochettino knows his job will not begin with a simple change of style or a shot of confidence. It begins with the defensive flaw that has become a nightmare for the Red Devils, and Calvin Bassey may be his first step towards fixing it.