Harry Kane gives his verdict on Pochettino ahead of Manchester United test
England captain Harry Kane, the Bayern Munich striker, believes Manchester United will be getting a "great coach" if they sign Mauricio Pochettino should Michael Carrick be sacked.
Manchester United are expected to sack Carrick during the current international break after the team's worst ever start to a Premier League season.
Sunday's 4-4 home draw against Aston Villa dropped Manchester United to eighteenth in the Premier League, with just one win in ten matches. Carrick's side had also crashed out of the Carabao Cup back in September, beaten 3-2 at home by Brighton.
United have already reached a preliminary agreement with Pochettino, head coach of the United States national team. His contract includes a release clause worth 10 million dollars (7.4 million pounds), and the Argentine is expected to be ready for the next Premier League match against Liverpool on 22 November.
Kane worked alongside Pochettino for five years at Tottenham, reaching a League Cup final and the Champions League final together. He has endorsed the 54-year-old's potential move to Manchester United.
Asked about the possibility of Pochettino moving to Old Trafford, Kane said: "Obviously the relationship between Mauricio and I is great."
He added, as quoted by the English newspaper "Metro": "I have mentioned him as one of the coaches who had a huge impact on my career and my development in a remarkable way. At that stage of my career, I needed his guidance and the way he motivated me, not just on the pitch but off it too. He was extremely helpful."
The England striker went on: "Obviously he is a great coach, as he has managed the biggest clubs in the world. From my point of view, I cannot find enough words to praise him."
He concluded: "We will have to wait and see what happens, but I know he is a great man, and a great manager too."
Kane made his name at Tottenham. A product of the academy, he nailed down a first-team place from the 2014-2015 season and stayed nearly a decade, becoming the club's all-time top scorer with 280 goals in 435 matches across all competitions. He also netted 213 times in the Premier League, won the Golden Boot three times and reached the Champions League final in 2019.
August 2023 brought a new challenge. Kane moved to Bayern Munich in search of the titles that had eluded him at Tottenham, and he shone immediately in the Bundesliga, finishing as the competition's top scorer in his first season with 36 goals. Two Bundesliga titles followed, along with the German Cup and the German Super Cup. The silverware had finally arrived for a striker who spent years as one of the game's finest without a major trophy to show for it.
