Manchester United are now closing in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as Michael Carrick's successor, after the club dismissed the former midfielder on Thursday morning.

Reports emerged on Monday night that CEO Omar Berrada and Director of Football Jason Wilcox had reached the decision to relieve Carrick of his duties. That decision was then ratified on Wednesday in a meeting in Monaco between Berrada, Wilcox and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. United are now said to be ironing out the final details of a move for Pochettino. 

United's form this season has not been good enough, and a club of United's size should never be in 18th place after 10 Premier League games. That being said, Carrick did an excellent job last season and was seriously let down by the board.

United only made four signings, and that includes second-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow. Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba are individually excellent players, but none of them was at the top of United's list. The club only decided to make moves for the trio after missing out on top targets like Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Gary Neville spoke about the imminent appointment of Pochettino and explained two things that he needs in order to be successful at Old Trafford.

"I'm hoping Pochettino has protected himself in his contract," Neville said.

"I hope he's stated that he needs a massive budget, not only in the summer but in January. He needs two defenders straight away to get Manchester United anywhere near where they want to be this season.

"And the other thing is to make sure he takes control of recruitment because it's quite clear what happened in the summer is well below the standard."

Pochettino should demand strong influence over transfers, but he should not have to. Competent clubs have people in charge of recruitment whom the head coach can rely on to bring in the right players.

It is not Wilcox's fault that Manchester United did not spend more money in the summer. He is not the one who sets budgets. He is, however, responsible for how that money is spent, and United's recruitment under Wilcox has, for the most part, been very average.

None of the midfielders which United signed has made a particularly positive impact, and while that may be partly because they have been playing in a dysfunctional team, United needed more athleticism in the middle of the park.

Baleba was a good signing and should become an important player once he is fully fit. Both Santos and Tielemans have real quality, but United probably should have signed only one and signed a more athletic profile of player as the third midfield signing.