MANCHESTER UNITED have confirmed the appointment of Jason Wilcox as technical director.
The former Blackburn winger, 53, who won the Premier League title as a player 19 years ago, will have overall responsibility for “football performance, recruitment and operations”.
A club statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as Technical Director with immediate effect.
“He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.”
Wilcox’s former club Southampton confirmed they had received a compensation payment from Man Utd in a statement of their own.
It read: “#SaintsFC has reluctantly agreed to allow Director of Football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached agreement on an acceptable compensation fee.”
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Wilcox, whose previous roles include technical director at Southampton and academy director at Manchester City, will report to the sporting director.
The new sporting director has not yet been appointed but is expected to be Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth.
And Wilcox’s arrival could hand a second chance to outcast Jadon Sancho as the pair worked together at the Man City academy.
Wilcox is understood to be a “fan” of the Borussia Dortmund loanee.
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Sancho has scored two goals and provided two assists in 14 games since returning for a second stint with the German club.
And on Tuesday they reached the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-4 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid.
Who is Jason Wilcox?
Jason Wilcox was born in Bolton and is an English football executive, coach and former professional footballer.
He played as a left winger during his career at enjoyed a 10-year spell at Blackburn Rovers.
He was part of the Lancashire side that pipped Manchester United to the Premier League title in 1995, which is the only honour of his career.
Wilcox made 271 league appearances for the club and scored 31 goals.
After leaving Rovers in 1999, he went on to have stints at Leeds United, Leicester City and Blackpool before retiring in 2006.
Before hanging up his boots he also earned three caps for England.
He made his debut for the Three Lions in the 3-0 win over Hungary in 1996 but did not make the cut for Euro 96.
In 2012, he joined Manchester City as a coach in the club’s academy and, after a year, was named the U18s head coach.
He was later made the Ctizens’ academy director.
In January 2023, Wilcox was appointed by Southampton as the club’s director of football.
He is now the technical director at Manchester United and has responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.
They will face Paris Saint-Germain for a place in the final at Wembley.
There is believed to be no option to buy clause included within his loan move to Dortmund.
However, his future remains undecided at Old Trafford after he accused Erik ten Hag of making him a “scapegoat” during their bust-up earlier this season.
Wilcox’s arrival comes after Man Utd revealed ex-Man City boss Omar Berrada as their new chief executive.
Man Utd are LUCKY to be seventh in the table… one particular stat is terrible, say Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
THE frightening thing about Manchester United’s season is that they should really be LOWER than seventh in the Premier League.
Even during their current run of one win in seven league matches, United’s results have been better than their performances.
Erik ten Hag’s team deserved to lose each of their last three drawn games against Brentford, Liverpool and Bournemouth.
On goal difference, United are ninth in the league, while only seven teams have scored fewer than their 47 goals.
And if we give any credence to ‘expected points’, then that stat would have them 15th in the table.
If Ten Hag’s men lose Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final to Championship side Coventry, it should not come as a major surprise.
Click here to read Dave Kidd’s column in full.
To read more from Dave Kidd, click here.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
