Michael Carrick was relieved of his duties by Manchester United on Thursday morning following a poor start to the season, with United currently sitting in 18th place in the Premier League table.

Throughout the last few weeks, United have been linked to several potential head coaches to replace Carrick. The Old Trafford hierarchy is said to admire Unai Emery, but the Spaniard is closing in on a new contract at Aston Villa. Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte were also linked to United, and all are currently out of work.

United are now, however, closing in on a deal to appoint former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino as the club's new head coach.

Pochettino, who is currently the manager of the USA national team, has reportedly reached an agreement with United, and the club are now working on finalising a deal with the USA. 

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and Football podcast, Nicky Butt spoke about Pochettino taking over at United and the role Lisandro Martinez could play in his team.

“What we look for now to build a squad and build someone, a squad that we can be proud of and watch it and go, you know what, we’re not there yet, but we’re getting there, and we’ve got good lads that will run through brick walls for us,” Butt said.

“I think he can do that, and I think he’s clever enough to notice and recognise one or two that he can’t trust.

“It will be interesting now with Martinez, him being Argentinian, that’s going to be interesting.”

It is hard to imagine a world where Manchester United don't sell Lisandro Martinez at some point over the next 12 months. His contract expires in the summer. United will likely activate the option to extend it for a further year to protect his value, but it is unlikely that the parties will agree on fresh terms after Martinez's comments about United's director of football, Jason Wilcox, after the defeat against Atletico Madrid a few weeks ago.

United lack athleticism in defence, and the need for that is even greater now, given Pochettino will likely look to implement an intense, high-pressing system at Old Trafford.

United need to revamp their defence in the coming two transfer windows. All of Martinez, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt should be sold. Leny Yoro has developed greatly this season and has a bright future. Ayden Heaven has struggled at times, but he has good potential, and the club should be patient with him.

The club also need to go into the market for at least three full-backs. Luke Shaw's contract expires at the end of the season, and it's unclear what position the club sees Patrick Dorgu in for the long term.

On the right, Noussair Mazraoui has declined drastically this season, and the club should look to sell him in January. Diogo Dalot has struggled for form, although he could still be a very useful player for Pochettino if he can rediscover his best form.