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New York Times
18 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Jason Wilcox has had meteoric rise at Manchester United. This is how he did it
The story behind Manchester United's first signing since the departure of Dan Ashworth as sporting director points to why Jason Wilcox has ultimately replaced him as the club's most senior football executive. After learning that Ayden Heaven had met Eintracht Frankfurt officials during the winter transfer window, Wilcox arranged for the teenage Arsenal defender to visit Old Trafford for the Europa League meeting with Rangers on January 23. Advertisement United rolled out the red carpet that evening, with Heaven seated in the directors' box in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. A meeting was set up with Ruben Amorim, the head coach. There was a handshake with United's managerial titan Sir Alex Ferguson, too, but the deciding factor was Wilcox. The technical director at the time, Wilcox persuaded Heaven that if he joined United he would settle quickly into an environment well-suited to him and his ambitions, under a coach committed to playing a back three made up of defenders who are brave in possession, at a club with a long history of developing young talent. Heaven's contract at Arsenal was expiring. Other clubs, including Chelsea and Newcastle United, proposed more attractive financial packages, some even offering double the money, while Barcelona and Marseille also looked at him. But Wilcox's focus on how the 18-year-old would fit into United's wider vision won the day. Heaven signed for United with only 10 minutes of senior football to his name. He has since played six times for their first team, looking accomplished on each occasion, but would have earned more minutes if not for a couple of unfortunate injuries. His Old Trafford career is in its infancy, but is off to a promising start. And regardless of how Heaven progresses from here, the acquisition of a young, left-footed centre-back who is comfortable in possession and ready to contribute at first-team level for only £1.5million ($2m at the current rate) also represents a promising start for Wilcox as dealmaker-in-chief. It is now 14 months since Wilcox's arrival at United, but still little is known about a man who has become so influential at Old Trafford in that time. The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources, both inside and outside United, who have dealt directly with him — all of whom spoke anonymously to protect their positions — to build a picture of how Wilcox operates and how he has risen so far, so fast. In April, a club-wide email from chief executive Omar Berrada referenced Wilcox as United's director of football for the first time internally. Last week's announcement of Matheus Cunha's £62.5million signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers did the same, and did it publicly. Wilcox has spent the past year fulfilling many of the role's responsibilities anyway, as his influence over Heaven's signing illustrates, but he is now formally a director of football again, having left the same position at Southampton to join United. Advertisement Wilcox spent less than a year at St Mary's, starting work in the summer of 2023, and only signed two players for a fee while he was there. Shea Charles followed Wilcox south from Manchester City's youth setup in a £10.5million deal with potential to rise to £15m via add-ons. After 32 appearances but only 15 starts in the Championship, as Southampton won promotion via the play-offs, the now 21-year-old midfielder spent last season back in the second tier on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. Ross Stewart arrived from Sunderland in a deal worth £8million, with a further £4m in add-ons, but the 28-year-old striker only scored his first goal for the club on the final day of their Premier League campaign after two injury-plagued seasons limited him to only 17 appearances. Wilcox's only permanent signings to play a significant part for Southampton last season were Ryan Manning, a free agent who joined from Swansea City when his contract there expired, and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, another City academy product signed after their promotion triggered a £20million obligation to buy at the end of his loan spell. Yet that ignores the inevitable churn that comes with promotion to the Premier League, to say nothing of £148million generated in sales of Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Tella. Wilcox's 10 signings — mostly loans and free agents — formed the bedrock of a side that returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking, under a young, progressive manager in Russell Martin, who Wilcox also brought in from Swansea. Ultimately, senior figures at Southampton were saddened to see him depart, albeit while understanding that the offer of a senior leadership position at United was too good to refuse. Wilcox left with credit for reenergizing the football department at Southampton, particularly the first-team squad and coaching staff. Advertisement His move there followed more than a decade as part of City's academy, serving as its director for six years, and some of those who know him from his days on the other side of Manchester are not surprised that he has made the step up so quickly. Wilcox's willingness to trust the judgement of those who reported to him at the City Football Academy and let them get on with things was appreciated, and viewed as something that would help make the transition to a more senior level of management one day. His status as an ex-professional with a 15-year career, a Premier League-winning winger with Blackburn Rovers in the 1994-95 season who played three times for England, has no doubt helped, too, and the importance of his relationship with Berrada cannot be downplayed either. Once it emerged that City's chief operating officer would become United's next chief executive, there was a sense among Wilcox's former colleagues in Manchester that he would follow him across town. Now reunited at Old Trafford and Carrington, United's training base, the bond between Berrada and Wilcox has been evident. In an interview with the fanzine United We Stand this week, Berrada detailed how Wilcox's intrinsic understanding of English football's culture and his experiences under the influence of Pep Guardiola for years at City form a special blend. 'He brings those two things together, that's unique,' Berrada said. Although Berrada's appointment was announced first, Wilcox began work at Carrington before any other INEOS executive-level hire, starting in April last year, while Berrada and incoming sporting director Ashworth were still serving periods of gardening leave at City and Newcastle respectively. That allowed Wilcox to bed in and build relationships at United, giving him a head start, compared to Ashworth. Over the months that followed, and as the sense began to grow that United had too many senior voices competing for influence, Wilcox's position was arguably the most firmly established. Advertisement Still, in those early days, some around Carrington recall a new recruit who quickly acknowledged the scale of the task in front of him, with Wilcox remarking as much to more than one person. He even referenced his recent history on the other side of Manchester's footballing divide, telling colleagues he still had his old City tracksuit in the wardrobe at home, acknowledging an unforeseen and swift switch from the blue half of town to the red. As technical director, Wilcox's role was to provide a bridge between the executive level at United and the first-team coaching staff, although that still incorporated aspects of recruitment and meant broadening his contacts. He made an impression through key contributions to United's summer business over the months that followed, particularly on the €62m (£53m; $71m) signing of Leny Yoro. Wilcox not only met Yoro personally at an early stage of United's pursuit but also enlisted Rio Ferdinand, a former team-mate of his at Leeds United, to help persuade the in-demand teenager to follow in his defensive footsteps at Old Trafford. A sign Wilcox had struck a chord with powerful new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be seen in his attendance at United's executive committee (ExCo) meeting that September. At the time, his presence there was a surprise to others at the club, given Berrada and Ashworth were finally in place and would have been expected to provide the football update at a stage when manager Erik ten Hag's future was uncertain. But Wilcox's status was rising. Wilcox had attended high-level meetings by that point, although this was before Ashworth had started, so there was a certain necessity. Most notably, Wilcox was in Monaco in May earlier that year, at the gathering where it was initially agreed that Ten Hag would be relieved of his duties, only for Old Trafford's key decision-makers to turn back from that outcome once talks with potential successors broke down. Amorim's name was also discussed during that period of uncertainty. Those in charge at United, including Wilcox, twice spoke to the man who would eventually succeed Ten Hag, albeit back then they favoured other candidates, specifically Thomas Tuchel, who had just left Bayern Munich and is now the England manager. Wilcox was one of those to hold reservations over hiring Amorim from Lisbon's Sporting CP at the time. He raised the challenges of changing to a back-three system during the first summer of a new executive, understanding the extensive recruitment that would be required, and also highlighted the rarity of a team winning the Premier League using that formation. Advertisement But by the following autumn, as Sporting continued to blaze through Portugal's Primeira Liga and get results in the Champions League, Wilcox supported the decision to appoint Amorim, having led United's technical evaluation of Ten Hag's potential successors, which identified him as the leading candidate. He has since established an excellent relationship with the Portuguese, regularly watching his training sessions, and the pair speak daily. Wilcox had good dialogue with Ten Hag towards the end of the Dutchman's reign, too, but the connection with Amorim is much stronger. Importantly, Wilcox has also developed a firm rapport with his boss. Ratcliffe, United's minority owner who has taken a keen interest in the day-to-day running of the club, has warmed to the 53-year-old's ebullient personality. The pair often sit together at matches, where the tone of their conversation can be more bootroom than boardroom, which comes as a refreshing change for the petrochemicals billionaire. By contrast, Ratcliffe had some tense interactions with Ashworth, whose personality is more measured. 'When I listen to Jason speak, I get what he's saying,' Ratcliffe told UK newspaper The Times in March. 'He's a warm character, he's got a sense of humour, he knows what he's talking about.' It is no coincidence that they are often seen sitting side-by-side at Old Trafford, discussing the game in front of them. In the same Times interview, while lamenting United's relative lack of cutting-edge data science in recruitment, compared with the likes of fellow Premier League sides Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford, he added: 'All we've got is Jason's eyes.' Txiki Begiristain had rated Wilcox's eyes as the best at City, Ratcliffe claimed, and he has earned a similar reputation at Carrington. Although from a more traditional than data-based background, his ability to break down and analyse matches, or spot a young talent ready to transition from the academy to the first team to fill a tactical need, is a large part of why he has been entrusted with wider responsibilities. As director of football, Wilcox is now the figure driving United's recruitment and he has led the pursuits of Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, as well as the unsuccessful attempt to sign Liam Delap, a player he had worked with at City's academy and who emerged as one of the most in-demand strikers of this summer's transfer window, having scored 12 Premier League goals in a relegated Ipswich Town side last season. Advertisement Alongside Berrada, Wilcox held face-to-face talks with Delap, and the pair left confident that a player who virtually had his pick of the Premier League would choose Old Trafford. To instead see him opt for Chelsea was a body blow, particularly as Delap's £30million release clause at Ipswich offered a young, Premier League-proven player in a position of high priority at a discount price, at a point in time when the need for United to show discipline in the market is greater than ever. There was far less competition for an even cheaper Delap last summer, leading some to question why, if he was so highly rated by the former director of the academy where he had been developed, United did not push to sign him then. That perhaps ignores that it is rarely straightforward for a player to directly cross that Mancunian divide, and that even Ipswich initially signed Delap to compete for the first-choice striker role rather than as an out-and-out starter. Few thought he would adapt to Premier League football as quickly as he did. Delap's release clause — like Cunha's — set clear parameters for a deal to be done and left relatively little to negotiate with the selling club. Some within the industry would argue that is no bad thing for United, given Wilcox's approach to such discussions has ruffled feathers at times. When the type of obstacles that inevitably crop up during transfer talks have arisen, from the scale of a particular transfer fee to the level of wage contribution in loan deals, some on the other side of the table have seen United's new director of football as reluctant to find solutions and difficult to sway. By adopting, and often refusing to budge from, hard red lines, some sources argue that Wilcox has at times allowed good deals to unnecessarily break down. Although it could be fairly argued that he has simply served the best interests of the club, some of those who have dealt with Wilcox contend this intransigence has ultimately forced United to settle for inferior terms further down the line. Advertisement That, however, is far from a unanimous view. Others believe Wilcox to be among the most impressive operators at his level, appreciating his unassuming but authoritative manner. Not a salesperson or shouter, some have found that he can be sincere and refreshingly to the point, never using 20 words when 10 will do. He is assisted in recruitment at United, and not only by Berrada. Matt Hargreaves, the director of football negotiations, leads talks with clubs and agents over prospective signings. Christopher Vivell has also taken on greater prominence since his position as interim director of recruitment was made permanent. Little happens without Ratcliffe's approval, too, and the 72-year-old even admitted to having some influence over transfer policy during his round of interviews in March. 'The player decisions are ones that Omar, Ruben and Jason — and a bit me — will make in the summer,' he told BBC Sport. It is Wilcox, alongside Berrada and chief business officer Marc Armstrong — another appointment to a role that did not exist before INEOS' arrival early last year — who now represent the triumvirate at the top of the club's executive branch, below ownership level. Wilcox and Berrada have contrasting but complementary personalities. While United's chief executive can be aggressive in his decision-making, their new director of football has a more personal touch. Berrada's experience with acting on football-related matters is still relevant to his role, and the close relationship with Wilcox allows him to lean into these responsibilities more than when Ashworth sat atop the football department. 'Having a football director like Jason, that is very knowledgeable on the technical side but also has a very good eye for young talent, is exactly what we need at this stage,' Berrada told United We Stand. 'And then he's very personable, somebody who's very likeable, who's very easy to work with. When you ask him about his ideas on football, he'll explain it in a very didactic way.' David Harrison, United's director of football operations, is responsible for administrative and logistical arrangements, but he will leave the club as part of their latest round of redundancies. United are expected to appoint somebody reporting into Wilcox, in a similar role to that which Berrada previously held at City, to keep such responsibilities off his plate. He certainly does not need any unnecessary distractions. Wilcox may have been fulfilling many of the post's duties over the past 14 months regardless, but whichever way you square it, he has only two years' worth of experience in senior leadership positions. Given the club's track record of trial followed by error at executive level, both including and predating the INEOS era, it is understandable that some at United are cautious about repeating the mistakes of the past and wary of over-promoting executives who lack the requisite experience to succeed in such a role. Advertisement Wilcox was absent from the post-season tour to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, enjoying a family holiday instead, but he stayed across ongoing transfer business while he was away. He has since returned to Carrington as he prepares to step into the most high-profile, highly pressurised position of his post-playing career — holding ultimate responsibility for one of the most challenging summer windows in United's recent history.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Man Utd and Arsenal set for opening-weekend meeting 36 years on
Manchester United hosting Arsenal at Old Trafford is perhaps the most eye-catching fixture on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League will be just the second time the two sides have faced each other in the opening game of a domestic league last time they did so, the Red Devils were comfortable 4-1 winners in 1989-90, with Steve Bruce and Mark Hughes among the scorers that day for Sir Alex Ferguson's is also only the fourth time the two teams will contest a league fixture in August, with United winning the previous three - including the famous 8-2 thrashing in it is the ninth consecutive season Manchester United have kicked off their campaign at last time they travelled away for an opening day fixture was in 2016-17, when Jose Mourinho's side won 3-1 at Bournemouth.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Premier League's greatest opening day moments – from David Beckham's halfway line lob to Jurgen Klinsmann celebration
THE Premier League fixtures have been released, with a blockbuster clash between Manchester United and Arsenal set to light up the opening weekend. Next season will kick off with a bang as under-pressure Ruben Amorim prepares his side to host the Gunners. 8 Elsewhere champions Liverpool will begin their title defence with a Friday night Bournemouth clash, before new boys Sunderland return to the Prem following eight years away by hosting West Ham. Whether bathed in August sunshine, or British summer drizzle, fans can look forward to some memorable clashes right from the word go. In years gone by there have been some remarkable opening day moments, from incredible goals to late drama. Upon today's fixture release, let's take a walk along memory lane and relive some of the amazing opening days of years gone by. 1996-97 - Beckham's halfway line goal Where else to start but with Golden Balls? Becks was already a star prior to Man Utd's trip to Selhurst Park to face Wimbledon on Saturday, 16 August 1996. But his incredible, audacious goal from the halfway line helped to catapult him into a household name all over the country. At the time, Sir Alex Ferguson gushed: "You have seen the goal of the season already. I have never seen it done before. Pele is the only one who came close to doing the same." Who are we to argue with the most decorated Prem manager of all time? 8 1994-95 - The Klinsmann dive Jurgen Klinsmann arrived in England in the summer of 1994 with the reputation of a goalscorer, diver and cheat... and perhaps not in that order. The German forward had appeared on English TV screens at the previous two World Cups, with a theatrical fall in the 1990 World Cup final to get Pedro Monzon sent off not being forgotten. Nevertheless, Klinsmann was a huge coup for Spurs, who despite finishing 15th the previous season had managed to lure one of the continent's most clinical strikers from Monaco to White Hart Lane. On his debut in a 4-3 win at Sheffield Wednesday on August 20, 1994, Klinsmann scored a sensational header to open his Tottenham account - before poking fun at his reputation by performing a celebratory dive in front of the boo boys in the home end. With the celebration quickly entering Prem folklore, Klinsmann went on to reveal: "(Teddy) Sheringham had the idea. If you score today, we'll all dive.' The wonderful thing was that the rival fans even laughed about it." 8 2016-17 - Mane's debut delight Jurgen Klopp 's first full season in charge of Liverpool began with a tricky-looking trip to Arsene Wenger 's Arsenal. And while the Reds didn't go on win the title that year, Klopp's men gave a brilliant sign of things to come as they blitzed the Gunners 4-3 on their own turf. The pick of the bunch was Sadio Mane 's sensational debut goal, with the summer arrival from Southampton burning the Arsenal defence before whacking an unstoppable left-footed shot into the net. Klopp celebrated the goal wildly, and even went on to admit that his manic response contributed to Arsenal getting back into the game. On Mane's impact at Anfield, the German boss reflected in 2022: "One of Liverpool's greatest ever players is leaving and we must acknowledge how significant this is. He leaves with our gratitude and our love." 2014-15 - Dier breaks Hammers hearts In the summer of 2014, Mauricio Pochettino took over at Tottenham - arriving from a rival Prem club to try and clear up the North Londoners' mess, sound familiar? The game got off to a less than ideal start for the Argentine, with Kyle Naughton being sent off for handling in the box on 29 minutes. Pochettino reshuffled his pack, putting 20-year-old debutant Eric Dier at right-back - and subsequently watched Mark Noble miss his spot kick. Amazingly the game finished 10v10, with James Collins sent off for the home side. Dier went on to be the unlikely hero, skipping past Adrian to score following Harry Kane 's brilliant through ball. After the game, Pochettino gushed: "It was a great goal by Eric Dier. He showed, and we showed, that we are ambitious. We played like a team and that is important." 8 2011-22 - Sergio Aguer-woah! Sergio Aguero did not take long to announce himself to English football. The Argentine superstar arrived at Manchester City from Atletico Madrid to high expectations in the summer of 2011. Aguero immediately impressed after being brought on against Swansea with his side leading 1-0. The livewire forward took just nine minutes to poke home his first of what would go on to be 260 City goals. And in stoppage time, he blasted home a beauty to cap off a brilliant 4-0 win for Roberto Mancini 's men. The result went on to be a sign of things to come, with the Billionaire Sky Blues going on to dramatically pinch the title from rivals Man Utd... Aguero scoring the all important last-gasp goal to clinch it on the final day. 8 1999-00 - Poyet's beauty Uruguayan midfielder Gus Poyet scored an iconic goal for Chelsea on the opening day of the 1999-00 season. While not scaling the heights that they would in the following decade, the Blues had grown in stature during the 1990s - largely owing to the genius of Gianfranco Zola. During this 4-0 stomping of Sunderland, Zola was in imperious form. The tricky Italian produced a sensational assist for his side's fourth goal, delicately scooping the ball into the penalty area. Poyet took it from there, finishing with an electrifying scissor kick. 2004-05 - Mourinho arrives Five years on from Poyet's brilliant opening day goal, Chelsea were welcoming new boss Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese didn't shy away from the spotlight, to put it mildly, declaring during his opening press conference: "Please don't call me arrogant, because what I'm saying is true. I'm European champion, and I think I'm a special one." Mourinho's big statement was immediately put to the test, as he began with a tricky home assignment against Sir Alex Ferguson 's Man Utd. The Blues won the contest 1-0 thanks to Eidur Gudjohnsen's scrappy 15th minute goal, with Mourinho admitting after the game: "Mr Ferguson pushed me to make changes that normally I don't do to play a safer match - and in fact the team defended very, very, very well." Chelsea's stingy defence went on to concede just 15 times across the whole season, a record that still stands to this day, with Mourinho's Blues going on to win their first league title in 50 years. 8
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
When Mourinho's Chelsea became the 'special' club
In this weeks episode, BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast takes a look at the 2004/05 Premier League season when Jose Mourinho delivered Chelsea their first league title in 50 Chapman, Chris Sutton and Rory Smith look back on Mourinho's debut season and hear from midfielder Claude Makelele on his role within the team. Sir Alex Ferguson also offers his take on his rivalry with the Chelsea to the full episode on BBC Sounds
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Sir Alex Ferguson comes across emotional letter he sent decades ago on first-ever tour of Rangers' museum
SIR ALEX FERGUSON spotted an emotional letter he wrote in the '90s in Rangers' brand new museum. The iconic Scottish manager was in Glasgow this week for the opening of the Rangers Museum at New Edmiston House. 4 4 4 Fergie, who spent two years at Ibrox from 1967 to 1969, was given the honour of being the venue's first-ever visitor. Some of the most famed items in Rangers' history are on display in the museum, including a letter from Ferguson. The letter was one Govan-born Ferguson penned to Dick Advocaat after the Dutchman guided the Teddy Bears to a treble in the 1998/1999 season. It read: "Dear Dick. Just a wee note to congratulate you and your players on winning the treble. "I know how difficult it is to maintain the level of fitness and determination to achieve all three trophies, but your players carried out the task wth great style. "Please pass on my sincere good wishes to all your staff. "Yours sincerely, Sir Alex Ferguson." Ferguson appeared to be emotional as he looked at the letter and the rest of the Gers memorabilia. 4 The Ibrox faithful were thrilled that Fergie was the first person to enter the doors of the Rangers Museum. One wrote on X: "Brilliant to see Fergie looking so well, and nice to see him at Ibrox." Another said: "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."
