Silvia Tuya is expected to become the first woman to work in the backroom staff of Manchester United's men's first team, as Mauricio Pochettino prepares to add two dedicated fitness specialists to his coaching setup.
Tuya currently works as a strength and conditioning coach for the United States national team, having joined in October 2024 to work alongside Pochettino's trusted inner circle of staff. The Spaniard holds a PhD in sports science and has taught at the University of Barcelona. In her role with the USA, she has worked closely with Pochettino's son, sports scientist Sebastiano Pochettino, and the pair have been in charge of conditioning, fitness, and injury prevention.
Expected arrivals at Carrington
Both are expected to follow Pochettino to Manchester, along with assistant coach Jesus Perez, assistant coach Miguel D'Agostino and goalkeeper coach Antonio Jimenez, who have worked with him at every job since his first role in 2009 at former club Espanyol. Sebastiano Pochettino began working on his father's backroom staff during his time in charge of Tottenham, while Tuya was a recent addition with the USA.
The Manchester Evening News analysed why United's running statistics were so poor in September and pointed out that Michael Carrick had not brought his own fitness coach with him to Carrington following his appointment. The contracts of his backroom staff were renegotiated when he was hired full-time, but no further additions were made to his coaching team.
Fitness concerns under Carrick
Carrick inherited some dedicated physical performance coaches, such as Edward Leng and Charlie Owen (the latter guides the team through running drills at the start of training), but he did not bring his own coach into the building, unlike his predecessor. United's results were awful under Ruben Amorim, but the players felt they were in peak physical condition during that spell. Amorim brought his own physical performance coach to United, Paulo Barreira, who was well regarded having previously worked at Arsenal and Liverpool.
The analysis of why United were bottom of the table for most running stats this season argued that while it was mostly by design, as Carrick set his team up tactically in a mid-to-low block, conditioning could be a small factor. However, there should be a much smaller chance of it being an issue if Pochettino brings two dedicated fitness staff members with him to Carrington, with Tuya and his son, Sebastiano, expected to fill those roles.
Impact on player fitness
The pair should not only help improve fitness and durability but also reduce the number of muscle injuries, which is one of the biggest signs of an expert fitness department. Patrick Dorgu is a player who immediately springs to mind as someone who should benefit from their arrival. He was forced to withdraw from international duty with Denmark this week due to the same hamstring issue that he only just recovered from to feature for United.
Carrick warned that Dorgu needed to be carefully handled upon his return and was clearly aware of the sensitivity of his issue, but he was given the green light to play, a decision that has backfired. It will be fascinating to see whether Tuya and Sebastiano Pochettino can indeed reduce muscle injuries at United and help players like Dorgu come back at the right time and, crucially, stay fit.
Bringing dedicated fitness staff to the club is not the only immediate change Pochettino will make, as the players' routine is set to be tweaked. Carrick would give players a day off after games, no matter the result, but Pochettino demands that his players report to training for designated recovery sessions the day after a game. That approach was controversial at Tottenham by the end of his time there, with reports of players becoming exhausted by Pochettino's training methods, but United fans will feel he is exactly what their club needs.
