Manchester United coach Martyn Pert is set to follow Kieran McKenna to Ipswich Town.
The Blues are in advanced talks to make McKenna the club's 19th permanent manager ahead of Saturday's home clash with Sunderland.
And it's been widely reported that the 35-year-old, who rose through the ranks at Old Trafford to become part of both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's inner circle, will bring strength and conditioning expert Martyn Pert with him.
Pert, 43, was a youth team player at Norwich. After failing to make it as a player he then trained to be an accountant at Loughborough.
Deciding to pursue a career in football, he wrote to clubs across Europe and was invited by Brondby, Ajax, Heerenveen, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and AC Milan to study their drills.
He subsequently worked alongside Aidy Boothroyd at West Brom, Watford and Coventry, current Town chief executive Mark Ashton having been the man to appoint Boothroyd at Vicarage Road.
During a gap in employment, Pert spent three months shadowing renowned strength and conditioning coach Bill Foran at NBA club Miami Heat at a time when the legendary Shaquille O'Neal awas playing for them.
Assistant manager roles followed at Vancouver Whitecaps, Bahrain and Cardiff City before he joined United.
He can speak fluent Portuguese and is known to have spent time picking the brains of Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa.
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