Mauricio Pochettino has agreed a deal to become Manchester United’s head coach, according to Sky Sports News and The Athletic, and his first game in charge is expected to be against Liverpool at Anfield.
Elsewhere, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister are in their national squads for tonight’s games, and Wirtz has revealed that Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp keeps in touch with him after Liverpool matches. Dominik Szoboszlai’s fitness for Hungary is still unresolved, and a claim that Virgil van Dijk wants to join Barcelona was recirculated on social media overnight, but it is a two-day-old story from a single source.
Pochettino agrees United deal
Manchester United and Mauricio Pochettino, 54, have agreed a deal for him to become the club’s next head coach, Sky Sports News reported late last night. Sky and The Athletic’s David Ornstein both report a two-and-a-half-year contract, until the summer of 2029, with the formal announcement expected today.
The Athletic says United will pay the release clause in his USA contract, worth about $10m, in full. Pochettino will take charge of the USA for their two games against Haiti during this break before moving to United, and Sky says his first game in charge will be the trip to Anfield on Sunday 22 November.
Credibility: High. United had not officially confirmed the appointment by 6am UK time.
Wirtz reveals Klopp’s messages
Florian Wirtz, 23, has revealed that Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp keeps in touch with him during the Liverpool season. Speaking in German at Thursday’s press conference before tonight’s game in Serbia, he said: “Most of the time he writes a short message after the games. He congratulates me when it went well, but he also tells me when I wasn’t so good.”
Wirtz added that it can’t be taken for granted that the national team coach takes so much time to watch his club games, and said he was happy Klopp was so interested. He has also told Sky in Germany that he no longer looks at anything about himself.
Reds on international duty tonight
Cody Gakpo’s Netherlands host Kostas Tsimikas’s Greece in Amsterdam, and Wirtz’s Germany visit Serbia in Belgrade. Both Nations League games kick off at 7.45pm UK time.
Later tonight, Alexis Mac Allister’s Argentina face Ronald Araujo’s Uruguay in a friendly at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, which kicks off at 11pm UK time. Trey Nyoni is in the England Under-21 squad to play Portugal in a friendly in Bristol at 7.30pm.
Injury picture
There has been no new injury update from the club overnight. The club’s last squad update was on Friday 6 November.
Dominik Szoboszlai (knee sprain) is still with Hungary, whose federation has said a decision on whether he plays will almost certainly not be made until the last minute. Hungary play Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday at 5pm UK time.
Virgil van Dijk withdrew from the Netherlands squad and Ryan Gravenberch was left out injured, so neither is involved against Greece tonight.
Vušković on Liverpool’s shortlist
Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport in Germany reported on Thursday that Liverpool have Brighton centre-back Luka Vušković, 19, on their shortlist for next summer and are monitoring him regularly. He says Vušković’s contract runs until 2031 with no release clause, and puts his value at around €100m.
This is interest and monitoring only. No bid or approach has been reported, and no other reliable outlet has reported it independently. Credibility: Low.
Van Dijk to Barcelona: an old story from one source
A claim that Virgil van Dijk, 35, has asked his agents to arrange talks with Barcelona spread on social media late last night. It comes from a single source, the Catalan website El Nacional, which published it on Wednesday 11 November, and no other outlet has reported it independently. Van Dijk’s contract expires at the end of the season, and after the win at Crystal Palace he said: “There’s nothing to report at the moment but that doesn’t mean that there’s any stress or anything.”
Credibility: Low.
No significant new developments have emerged overnight concerning Liverpool contracts, ownership, investment or senior club staffing.
Fixtures (UK times)
Sun 22 Nov: Manchester United (h) Premier League 4.30pm (Sky Sports)
Wed 25 Nov: Club Brugge (a) Champions League 8pm (TNT Sports)
Sun 29 Nov: Everton (a) Premier League 12pm (TNT Sports)
