Manchester United want former Man City academy director Jason Wilcox to join Ineos revolution

Jason Wilcox is highly thought of within football – Getty Images/Matt Watson

Former Manchester City academy director Jason Wilcox is among the main contenders to work as a recruitment head at Manchester United, as the Ineos restructure of the club continues.

United are building their executive level infrastructure rapidly with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 25 per cent of the club, rising to 29 per cent imminent, and Wilcox is high on the Ineos list. He is currently the sporting director of Southampton whom he joined under the new ownership of Sport Republic in January last year.

Southampton are currently third in the Championship and attracting praise for the football played under manager Russell Martin. Wilcox has been a major part of the post-relegation rebuild. He would be the second key figure with a City Football Group association to be recruited by Inoes with Omar Berrada to join as the chief executive in the summer.

The Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth is the first choice at Old Trafford to fulfil the senior role and Wilcox, 52, would work under him. It would appear that the current structure led by John Murtough, and the former United midfielder Darren Fletcher, is to be completely overhauled by Sir Dave Brailsford, the Ineos director of sport.

The club are also looking at another role for an executive who would work between United and Ineos’ French Ligue 1 side Nice on recruitment and squad planning. Ineos are working swiftly having been given Premier League approval under the owners and directors’ test for the Ratcliffe takeover. They have had to move fast for the likes of Berrada and Ashworth in order that successful targets can work through their gardening leave and begin in their new roles as soon as possible.

Wilcox, a Premier League title winner as a player, who had a fine career at Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United among others, as well as three England caps, was a major part of the CFG dominance of development football that grew over the previous decade.

He went all the way from academy coach to become academy director in 2017. In that time City became the pre-eminent force in elite development football in England with winning teams and graduates to the first team. They augmented a competitive programme with very active recruitment of some of the best talent in England and further afield.

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