Manchester United
De Ligt returns to Manchester United training as preseason nears its end
De Ligt’s return to training gives Manchester United a late preseason boost before the league starts.
Manchester United have been given a timely lift with Matthijs de Ligt back in first-team training, a sign that his eight-month spell on the sidelines is edging toward a conclusion.
The defender joined the squad for the first time on this leg of the club’s summer tour of northern Europe, which has already included stops in Finland, Norway and Sweden before the move to the Republic of Ireland. On Monday, he took part in the opening 15 minutes of training at a facility in Co. Kildare, after which he returned to his individual programme as the rest of the group stepped up the intensity.
That does not mean a match return is imminent, but it is still an encouraging stage in his recovery. With the 2026-27 Premier League campaign due to begin in just under two weeks, every player is now back with the squad in Ireland.
That includes those who had been away on post-World Cup breaks, along with De Ligt, Benjamin Šeško, and new goalkeeper Karl Darlow, all of whom were working at Carrington. JJ Gabriel has also rejoined the group after a brief spell away from the travelling party, while new winger Tynan Thompson has earned his first opportunity around the senior squad. The 18-year-old arrived from Tottenham Hotspur with the hope of making a similar impression to Ayden Heaven, who moved from Arsenal in 2025.
Matheus Cunha and Senne Lammens are back after illness kept them out of the trip to Gothenburg for the PSG match. Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford trained on Monday after their time with England until the World Cup’s final weekend, and Lisandro Martínez arrived later that evening.
How Carrick shapes his defence for the opening weekend may depend on Martínez’s condition. Manchester United travel east across England to face Hull City on Aug. 22, and Martínez remains the club’s best left center back when fully fit, though he will have had limited time to rebuild after a delayed summer break.
That could open the door for Heaven alongside Harry Maguire. De Ligt, once fully ready, is expected to compete directly with Maguire for the right-sided role, with Leny Yoro also an option on that side because of his right foot.
Manchester United
Pochettino’s United link grows as his USMNT stance shifts
Pochettino’s contract talk has sharpened speculation over a possible future move to Manchester United.
Mauricio Pochettino’s position on his United States men’s national team deal has become more flexible, and that only adds weight to renewed speculation over Manchester United.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager is already well regarded at Old Trafford. He delivered Spurs’ strongest sustained domestic spell in the Premier League era and has also brought structure and unity to the USMNT setup.
United have looked at him before. Sir Alex Ferguson once travelled to meet the then-Tottenham boss over lunch. Pochettino later described that exchange as, “It was a meeting in London between colleagues, between a genius and an apprentice,” and he chose not to take the job at that stage.
More recently, Tottenham made contact again before the World Cup. Pochettino, who signed a new four-year deal with the USMNT only months ago, had no interest in leaving before a home tournament. As he put it: “They called everyone, they called all the coaches!”
That situation looked difficult to change at the time, with reports suggesting any move would have required “one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history”, around $30 million. Yet Pochettino has since made clear that the wording of his current contract matters.
“Now it’s a four-year contract, it’s different,” Pochettino explained. “We can next season lose the Copa América, or the Gold Cup, and they’re not happy with us, they can sack us. Or we can say, ‘O.K., it’s not the way that we think.’
“Four years is different. Maybe now if someone calls in the future, it’s a different type [of situation]. We are excited, we are thinking to spend four years, to the next World Cup. But now it’s a long period.”
He has also spoken openly about wanting a Premier League return. “I have the ambition [to return],” he told Sky Sports News in September. “My dream now is to be in the USA for four years, but after that, why not? We are still young, and I think coming back is always my goal; to win the Premier League, to be in the Premier League and to build a project with the possibility of winning.”
For United, the attraction is obvious. For Pochettino, the footballing case is less straightforward, with the club in a very different place from the one he has known before.
Still, the mutual interest is real, and the manager has left the door ajar.
Man Utd
United’s Carrick era under threat after latest collapse
United may sack Michael Carrick after eight winless league games leave them 18th in the table.
Manchester United are facing another managerial change, with reports on Monday suggesting Michael Carrick is expected to be dismissed before club football resumes after the November international break.
The club’s decision comes after a damaging sequence of results. Consecutive defeats to Como and Bournemouth had already pushed Carrick into danger, and although United were later able to respond with a comeback win against Roma and then recover again to draw 4-4 with Aston Villa on Sunday, the point was not enough to shift the mood around the manager.
That result extended United’s Premier League winless run to eight matches and left them 18th in the table. It also means the club are in the relegation zone for the first time in 40 years, at least nine matches into a season, as they head into the final international break of 2026.
A final call will rest with owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family, but TalkSport reported that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are expected to “recommend” Carrick’s removal when they meet with Ratcliffe on Tuesday.
Even the backing of supporters has not prevented the situation from deteriorating. United have won only three of their 15 matches in all competitions this season, and that record has left Carrick’s position looking increasingly untenable.
If the reports are accurate, Carrick would become the fourth permanent manager the club have dismissed since the start of the decade. The wider pattern is stark. Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Ten Hag, Amorim and Carrick have all been unable to restore United to the top of English soccer since the turn of the decade.
Should Carrick go, he would also be the seventh permanent manager of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era to fail to deliver a Premier League title back to Old Trafford.
According to multiple reports, U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino is the leading candidate to take over. Pochettino signed a new four-year deal after the 2026 World Cup, but the contract includes a release clause, and TalkSport say it would not be a major obstacle for United to trigger it. The Argentine, who has long wanted a return to the Premier League, is preparing for the USMNT’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti, yet could be set for a swift change if United act.
Manchester United
Michael Carrick holds firm as Manchester United weigh their next move
Carrick resists talk of departure as Manchester United’s hierarchy weigh their options.
Michael Carrick gave little away when asked whether Manchester United’s hierarchy would use the international break to discuss his position. “Will there?” he replied, after a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth had already deepened the pressure around the club.
That result had initially earned him a brief reprieve, but the picture at Old Trafford remained bleak. United followed with a collapse against Chelsea, then recovered to beat Roma in midweek before the dramatic meeting with Villa. Even with that mixed run, the team’s worst start in 40 years has left them in the relegation zone for at least another fortnight, and questions over Carrick’s future have only grown louder.
Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davison suggested the club’s leaders may now be weighing up what comes next. Carrick, though, pushed back sharply. “You’re telling me,” he said. “I’m quite clear with what direction the club needs to go in, and it’s got to win games. We haven’t won enough games, but I expect to move forward and keep working on the things that we’ve been working on and showing a lot of the good in the game today, tighten up on a few mistakes and win football matches.”
He was equally direct when asked whether he might resign. “I’m not,” he said.
For all the uncertainty, Carrick’s attachment to the job appears strong. A former United player for 12 years, he has family ties to the club and still follows the standards set by Sir Alex Ferguson. Former midfielder Nicky Butt has said Carrick had ruled out management, except at the club he values most.
There is also no sign that he has mentally checked out. Even before the recent revival, he was said to be “really looking forward” to the Roma game.
Whether he walks away or is moved on now rests elsewhere. Manchester United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox will help advise Sir Jim Ratcliffe on whether the club should pursue a fourth permanent manager in two years. For now, the results have bought time, but not certainty.
