Mauricio Pochettino becoming the next Manchester United would be underwhelming – there are nine better bosses than him.That’s the opinion of talkSPORT’s Darren Bent, who believes there are a stronger candidates out there to replace Michael Carrick.Pochettino would be an underwhelming appointment for Man United should Carrick be sacked, according to BentGettyCarrick is set to be sacked as Man United manager, with Pochettino the frontrunner to take over at Old Trafford. The ex-Tottenham and Chelsea boss is currently in charge of the USA national team, but he has a release clause of around $10million.And it’s understood that he has always been keen on managing United, so a return to the Premier League could be on the cards.However, former top-flight striker Bent isn’t a huge fan of the Red Devils making a move for Pochettino over other options.He said on talkSPORT Drive: “My honest impression when I heard the news, I was a little bit underwhelmed.“I just think there are better candidates… I think there are other, more suitable candidates.”“I think he’s a really good coach,” Bent went on to clarify.“If you look at the way he develops players, look at Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, brought Mousa Dembele in from Fulham.“That side he assembled at Tottenham had some serious footballers…you look back and there should have been a trophy that came at that time.“Even the way he developed Harry Kane, he had such good players there and I still think he’s a really good coach.”Bent is a fan of what Pochettino did as Spurs manager, but thinks there are better candidates for the Man United jobGettyHowe a better option than PochettinoBent then admitted that he thinks former Newcastle and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe would be a better appointment than Pochettino.“I would still have Eddie Howe above him,” he said. “He’s got more on his CV, he took Bournemouth from League Two to the Premier League, won a trophy at Newcastle.Drive co-host Andy Goldstein then pointed out that Pochettino got Spurs to a Champions League final during his tenure.But Bent replied: “He took them to two finals and lost, Howe took Newcastle to a final and won, beating Liverpool in that final.“Howe made Alexander Isak the best striker in Europe, he put together a midfielder that would go up against anybody. He got Anthony Gordon a move to Barcelona! “All these things Eddie Howe has done, you have to say fair play to him… if he was called Pochettino, he’d get the job.”Howe is still available after leaving Newcastle this summer and Bent thinks he would be a better pick than PochettinoGettyWould Pochettino be a top six Premier League manager?Goldstein and Bent eventually discussed whether Pochettino would return to the Premier League as one of the best. The Argentine has taken charge of 296 top-flight matches across two spells in England, winning 150 and losing 74. However, he never won a trophy at Tottenham, Chelsea or Southampton.And in his opinion, Bent doesn’t think that Pochettino would be in the top six bosses in the Premier League if he joins Man United.In fact, he named eight others, as well as Howe, that he would put ahead of him, picking out Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Andoni Iraola, Fabian Hurzeler and Oliver Glasner instantly.He also selected Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca despite him goin through a ‘tough time’, as well as Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso.Everton boss Moyes is one of the eight current Premier League managers that Bent would rank higher than PochettinoGettyAnd Bent also picked Everton boss David Moyes, explaining: “If Moyes was called Pochettino, there’d be no argument. “What has Moyes done that Pochettino hasn’t?” Carrick’s future is expected to be decided upon this week after Man United chiefs Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox met with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Tuesday.Berrada and Wilcox are understood to have been set to recommend a change in the dugout during that meeting.