Pochettino takes over at Manchester United, tasked with lifting club off the bottom of the table

Manchester United's dugout has a new occupant, and this time the name surprises no one who has followed the rumors of the past few weeks: Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the club's next head coach, with the official announcement expected this Friday.

The 54 year old Argentine manager arrives to replace Michael Carrick, who was let go by the club on Thursday. According to sources familiar with the talks, Pochettino has already settled the personal terms of a two and a half year contract at Old Trafford.

There's one detail complicating his immediate arrival, though: Pochettino still has an outstanding commitment with the US national team. It was agreed that he would lead the team through two matches against Haiti before heading to Manchester to take charge at United. Even so, the club expects him at Carrington this Wednesday, the same day most of the squad's international players are also due back at the training ground. His first match in charge would be against Liverpool at Anfield on November 22.

How did everything come together? Pochettino himself, according to the sources, asked his representatives to let United know about an exit clause written into the contract extension he signed with U.S. Soccer back in August. That move sped up negotiations: United CEO Omar Berrada informed the USSF on Wednesday that the club would trigger that release clause, valued at $10 million (7.5 million pounds). On top of that, United will pay roughly another $2 million to bring in the coaching staff accompanying the Argentine, including his longtime assistant Jesus Perez.

A Premier League return amid a results crisis

Pochettino thus returns to the Premier League, a competition he knows well from his time at Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea. The difference this time is that he's joining a giant going through a rough patch: United sit 18th in the table at the moment of the coaching change, a position that explains why the club moved so urgently after Carrick's exit.

The challenge awaiting the Argentine is significant: taking over a battered locker room with little time to adjust before facing a historic rival like Liverpool, and doing so with almost no preseason work of his own with the group, since he must first fulfill his commitment against Haiti. Old Trafford already has a date set to officially unveil its new manager, but the real test begins the moment he walks into Carrington.