The Red Devils’ first contact for the 53-year-old came in mid-February, when David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that United wanted him as part of their new sporting structure.
Fabrizio Romano stated yesterday that Wilcox, who only joined the Saints from Manchester City last summer, has left because Southampton refused to accept a fee from United.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United player appears to be on his way back to Manchester, and Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam has provided some insight on why the club has pursued Wilcox as part of its football rebuilding efforts.
McAdam feels that the 53-year-old’s connections to former City colleagues, who will now be working in the red half of the city, were a major factor for United’s pursuit of the Southampton director of football.
He said: “Manchester United has approached Southampton about Wilcox. They want him to be their new technical director, and according to our understanding, United offered an offer comparable to a year’s salary.
“He has only been down on the south coast for nine months. He joined the club from Manchester City, and United think they have met the clause to secure their player. However, one of the things that has irritated Southampton is not only the timing of this, but the fact that they are attempting to prepare for Premier League games. They want to establish the infrastructure behind the scenes that Wilcox has been leading, and they clearly do not want to lose someone who is an essential component of their backroom staff.
One of the reasons for the relationship and interest is that Omar Berrada, who was at Manchester City and will join United in the summer, had worked with Wilcox at City before joining the Saints. So there is a natural connection and a working relationship there.
Berrada has been named United’s next CEO after departing the Citizens, where he served as chief football operations officer for the City Football Group and made significant contributions both on and off the game.
We understand that this is only one component of a complete rebuild of Man United’s recruitment structure,” McAdam stated. “When Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrived at Old Trafford, he wanted to overhaul and restructure the football operations, as well as have complete control over them. That means a new chief executive, Berrada, a new sporting director, and Wilcox would all be part of the new-look setup.
The club’s chances of automatic promotion to the Premier League were badly dented yesterday night with a defeat to Ipswich Town. Jeremy Sarmiento scored a last-minute winner for the Tractor Boys, putting the Saints 11 points below the top three.
The news of Wilcox’s presumably imminent resignation surfaced around the time of the game, adding to everyone’s disappointment from the Saints’ late loss to Ipswich.
