Man Utd Must Hit Pause on Pochettino's 'Astonishing' Transfer Wish

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Manchester United must hold off on Mauricio Pochettino's reported desire to sign USMNT player Alex Freeman.

Mauricio Pochettino is already being linked with one of his UMSNT favourites, but Manchester United cannot delay in beginning to have better standards. Pochettino is Old Trafford-bound after agreeing a deal to take over from Michael Carrick, and he is said to be keen on quickly reuniting with USMNT talent Alex Freeman in the January transfer window.

Pochettino is just finishing up with USMNT, and he lead them to a 6-0 win over Haiti in the CONCACAF Nations League on Saturday night. The Argentine now heads to Old Trafford, where he clearly has a lot of work to do, with United currently sat in the Premier League's bottom three.

It will be interesting to see what tactical solutions Pochettino can find, and indeed how quickly he can get the team playing in his style of play. Recruits will likely play a key part in how United evolve under their new boss, and some of the needs are obvious.

United don't currently have a senior left-back to compete with Luke Shaw, and they certainly need another alternative to Benjamin Sesko, who is already out until January with a shin issue.

But recent reports suggest United will also pursue a new right-back, with Noussair Mazraoui requiring better competition than Diogo Dalot, who has been exposed against better sides.

TeamTalk have claimed that Villarreal's Freeman is of interest, with the right-back having impressed Pochettino during his time with the national team. Freeman was a bargain buy for the Yellow Submarine, who have focused on the North American market in recent times. Villarreal signed Freeman for just €3.5million back in January, and he went on to play an important role in them finishing third last season under Marcelino. He has remained a key player under Iñigo Pérez this season, but it hasn't been such a fruitful campaign for the Yellow Submarine so far, with the Castellón side struggling to get to grips with their new boss.

Freeman has been one of Villarreal's better players, no doubt, take it from someone who watches every game the Yellows play, but while he is good enough to get in the United side now, or at least compete for a starting spot, he is not ready to get into the United Pochettino should be looking to build.

This is only going to work for Pochettino at Old Trafford if he dramatically raises the standards. He needs to be looking for the best-in-class players, and Freeman could yet become one of those, still only 22 years of age, but he isn't there yet. The American is fast and powerful, and his rawness, having arrived from MLS, has actually been refreshing at Villarreal. But he still has a little of the clumsiness you would expect to see from such a young player making the jump to Europe. And it hasn't helped that he is expected to play in a number of roles, as Perez has described.

> “The confidence to field him in any position or ask him to do things that might surprise him makes me bolder, and, as you've seen, he's able to play with astonishing composure.” - Perez on Freeman

But while he is developing nicely, Freeman is doing just that - developing. He is learning to play with and look after the ball at a team and a club that values possession. He is becoming a much better footballer with every passing week, and quite frankly, he already has the physical attributes to do well in the Premier League. What he needs now is that football IQ that he will get where he currently is.

Pochettino is a big believer in Freeman, previously saying: “For me, he has the potential to be one of the best players in his position in the world.”

United should absolutely consider signing Freeman, but not in January. It's not the time. They need world-class competition at the right-back, and if they can't get it in January, then they shouldn't sign one at all. Circle back to Freeman in January by any means. But United are in a sorry state, and for now, they need to concentrate on the here on now, and on players who are going to have a major impact on their starting XI.

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