Kane, Palmer and Paz: Mauricio Pochettino’s dream Manchester United XI revealed

The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager is keen to return to the Premier League, and could be reunited with a familiar face or two

Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly gearing up to become the new Manchester United manager, as club chiefs meet in Monaco to discuss Michael Carrick’s future.

A new face in the dugout is needed with the club currently languishing in the relegation zone after the worst start to a league season in a century.

Pochettino will expected to be backed in the transfer window, both in January and moving forward, as Man Utd bid to get back to their glorious days of the past.

That would mean yet more serious investment in the squad, but what exactly would a Pochettino dream XI look like at United?

London Standard

Senne Lammens may have thrown a few into his own net recently, but he is still a good goalkeeper and a relatively recent recruit. If it ain’t (totally) broke, don’t fix it.

Full-back has become a real problem for Man Utd. Luke Shaw’s poor injury record continues to affect both his fitness and form, and Diogo Dalot is clearly not up to the task despite being in his ninth season at Old Trafford.

At Tottenham particularly, Pochettino worked wonders with impressive and robust young full-backs, who grew into the league’s best under his tutelage. That brings Lewis Hall - even with a new contract - and Spurs’s Archie Gray into view.

Whether they would join Man Utd is another matter, but working with Pochettino would surely be an attractive pull. Hall and Gray have years ahead of them, but are also assured Premier League performers who are well-balanced between attack and defence. And in Gray, there are burgeoning leadership skills, too.

At centre-back, you could just imagine the Argentina connection bringing Lisandro Martinez back into scope for Man Utd’s medium-term future, and Pochettino has always relished the challenge of working with high-ceiling young players. Leny Yoro, still only 20, is certainly that.

Central midfield would be a mix of youth and experience, with Youri Tielemans taking the lead and Kobbie Mainoo learning alongside him. Meanwhile, a reunion with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer — who played by far his best football in blue during Pochettino’s tenure — would be a mouthwatering prospect.

But Palmer would be asked to play on the right, to make way for Bruno Fernandes’s replacement in attacking midfield. Quite conceivable is that the player in question would be Como’s Nico Paz, an Argentina international and the sort of promising No10 that Pochettino would love to work with and challenge to reach that next level.

Marcus Rashford would operate on the left flank, and after taking a good look at Benjamin Sesko — and the market, where genuinely good strikers are at a premium — it would be Bryan Mbeumo to lead the line for the Red Devils. The Cameroonian has, after all, been playing out of position up front this season yet still proven to be just about their only good performer during a torrid spell under Carrick.

Of course, his preference would be a situation where he were reunited with Harry Kane, but Pochettino would know that is unrealistic after the England captain last week became Europe’s highest-paid player by base salary when signing a new three-year contract with Bayern Munich. Mbeumo it is.