Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly set to demand that Manchester United appoint four long-time members of his coaching staff before agreeing to replace Michael Carrick as head coach. The current United States boss has worked with Jesus Perez, Miguel D'Agostino and Toni Jimenez at every job since his first role in 2009 at Espanyol.
Pochettino played alongside Jimenez during his time as a central defender in Spain, having previously been teammates with D'Agostino at Argentine club Newell's Old Boys. Perez is considered his top assistant coach, while the most recent addition is his eldest son, Sebastiano, who has worked with his father since the summer of 2016. All four are currently in the United States, having previously worked together at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur.
Release clause and compensation costs
It is widely reported that the release clause in Pochettino's new four-year contract with US Soccer is around £7.5million ($10million). INEOS could have to pay millions more on top of that amount for the quartet. United would also be due to pay compensation to departing members of staff, with Carrick set to be axed later this week.
United chiefs Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are set to hold a meeting in Monaco where they are expected to agree on axing Carrick. Several managers, including Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Julian Nagelsmann, have been linked with the post, though Pochettino has emerged as the frontrunner.
Pochettino's tight-knit staff
The Argentine, who is understood to be keen to take the job, has a close-knit group of staff who he would almost certainly demand to come with him in any negotiations with United. Perez is Pochettino's right-hand man, even appearing alongside him on episode 391 of the High Performance Podcast earlier this year.
Speaking last year about the coaches as a whole, Perez told GOAL: "Obviously, we are a very united staff. We've been together for a long time, and I think we share the same principles. We don't overstep anything beyond Mauricio. We try to represent him. That's the main goal - represent him in every way."
Perez continued: "My main responsibility is to keep everyone connected. Every single department, I need to make sure we are not missing anything. Obviously, that's a bit easier at a club. We can't complain and say, 'It's a hard job' because it's not if you are well organized and have the right group of people around you. We do. It's pretty nice to work every day... If you track his career, he is being consistent in making people better."
"Obviously, there are realities or scenarios that are complicated, and it's difficult sometimes to see. But I think he's a guy who tries to make a group of players become one team. It's not my staff and the federation's staff - it's our staff. We have different positions, but we behave as one because we go further together."
