A club with one league win in 10 games chasing arguably football’s most coveted winger would be the transfer story of the winter if it had substance. For now it is a rumor, and a wildly ambitious one.
Manchester United confirmed Pochettino on Friday on a deal running until the summer of 2029, buying him out of his United States national team contract for a reported £7.4m.
Pochettino replaces Michael Carrick, who was sacked this week after what Sky Sports called Manchester United’s worst start to a Premier League season. Carrick leaves with one win in 10 league fixtures and three wins in 15 across all competitions.
The Vinicius Jr report
The story that Pochettino has made Vinicius Jr his dream first signing has been pushed by Spanish transfer-rumor outlets since the appointment was announced and recycled across the English-language transfer market. According to those reports, Pochettino has told United’s hierarchy that only a galactico-level arrival can reset the club’s direction, and has named the 26-year-old Brazilian as the player he wants in January or next summer.
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No mainstream Spanish or English outlet has carried the claim beyond speculation, and Real Madrid have not been reported to have had any contact with the player’s camp. Treat it accordingly.
A 2032 Madrid contract in the way
The report sits against the hard numbers of Vinicius’s situation. The forward agreed a new contract with Real Madrid in August 2026, tying him to the Bernabéu until the summer of 2032.
He has had a difficult start under José Mourinho, who returned to Real Madrid as head coach in June 2026 on a three-year deal, with Vinicius registering just one goal in his opening 12 appearances. None of that, by itself, moves Madrid toward selling a 2032-contracted forward in mid-season.
The target United are actually working on
The player United’s own hierarchy have been discussing more concretely is a different Argentine. According to Football365, Pochettino has urged the board to make Como’s Nico Paz his number-one target, with the deal lined up for the 2027-28 season rather than January.
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The 22-year-old playmaker has six goals and eight assists in all competitions this season. Real Madrid retain a £67m buy-back clause from his 2024 sale to Como, and GiveMeSport reports that United’s interest hardened after Paz scored twice and assisted another in Como’s 4-1 Champions League win over them earlier this season.
Pochettino takes his first training session at Carrington on Thursday. His debut, three days later, is at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday 22 November.
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