Gary Neville has said Mauricio Pochettino should turn down the Manchester United job unless he is guaranteed two new defenders in January and a clear transfer budget.
Pochettino has emerged as the leading contender to replace Michael Carrick at Old Trafford. Contact has been made with the United States Soccer Federation over an agreement that would let the Argentine leave his role with the US national team and take charge of the Red Devils.
Neville's warning over transfer demands
Speaking on The Overlap, Neville said Pochettino should protect himself when entering negotiations. "We've talked about 'don't believe an owner on the way in' about what they're going to spend," he said. "If I was Mauricio Pochettino now, I would be literally protecting myself up to the high heaven. He'll do that with a payoff."
He added: "But secondly, he needs two defenders in January. So he's got to insist that he gets two defenders in January. He's got to insist that he gets a minimum budget next summer for the transfer window to be able to turn this around. He's got to insist that he gets a budget the following summer. They have to give it to him or else he shouldn't take the job."
A challenging situation at Old Trafford
United have won just one of their first 10 league matches under Carrick and have kept only one clean sheet across 15 games in all competitions. Neville said Pochettino must secure some form of transfer control on the way in. "Mauricio, I don't think is the kind of manager either who would say 'Give me half a billion' - I don't think he's that type of guy," he said.
Neville noted that Pochettino would want to bring players through and develop young players, but insisted he needs to protect himself over the next 12 months with the transfer budget. He pointed to the current defensive options, saying that if United have Dorgu at left-back, Mazraoui at right-back, and Heaven and Yoro at centre-back, the manager "will have to do one hell of a job coaching to get them up the league."
