There was a time when the prospect of Mauricio Pochettino becoming a free agent would have been a starting pistol for Manchester United’s board. Ready, set, go… and get the club’s next manager.



Such was the interest at one stage it is said a meeting between a senior United official and Pochettino took place off a junction of the M25 motorway. A tentative sounding-out of sorts.



The major impediment over the years of subtle and not-so-subtle admiration had been the cost of prising Pochettino from Tottenham Hotspur — financially and emotionally. It was felt that dealing with Daniel Levy would drain reserves of energy as much as drain the bank balance.



Sir Alex Ferguson loathed negotiating with the Tottenham chairman but doubtless enjoyed dining with Pochettino in 2016, at Scott’s Restaurant in Mayfair, just a few minutes’ walk from United’s London offices. It was a public display of mutual appreciation that projected a...