While all the headlines focus on Ruben Amorim and the question of whether his system will be the saving grace United needs, there is someone else instrumental at Manchester United.
Jason Wilcox.
He’s not doing loads of press, his name isn’t attributed to loads of official statements, but behind the scenes, Wilcox has been quickly and quietly reshaping the club’s approach.
His journey from Premier League winning winger to a respected academy head, and now seemingly the main man at Manchester United, Jason Wilcox has had a fascinating journey to the top.
Playing Career and Manchester City Academy
Jason Wilcox was a well known player in the early days of the Premier League. He was one of Blackburn Rovers’ famous 1995 league winning squad, alongside Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton.
Wilcox was rarely making headlines himself, but to anyone who watched a bit of footy, and especially to Blackburn fans, he was one of the best of his time. He played over 300 times in the top flight, most of them with Rovers, his boyhood club where he also scored 33 goals.
After retiring and dabbling in commentary, Wilcox turned to coaching. He began at Manchester City of all places, coaching the under-13s, and worked his way up to become the head of their academy. He held that role until 2023, which means he was there when the likes of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Rico Lewis were coming through.
This focus on youth is important. He gained a reputation for being to not only identify talent early on, but also elevate it quickly.
Southampton
In 2023 Wilcox took a significant step in his career when he became director of football at Southampton – his first senior role.
He wasn’t there for very long, leaving in 2024, but he helped get the club promoted back to the Premier League after being relegated the season before. They were relegated again after he left, but I’m, not sure Wilcox was the only factor involved in this yo-yo-ing between the top flight and the Championship.
One thing is for sure though, Southampton were reluctant to let Wilcox go when Manchester United came courting. He had signed a long term contract and United had to effectively buy him out of it. The Saints were clearly happy with his work, which shows he had quickly become respected there too.
His move to United was opportunistic – or maybe he just hated living down South, which is understandable – but it was an incredibly rapid climb up the career ladder.
Technical Director to Director of Football
Wilcox joined Manchester United as part of INEOS big backroom rebuild, which also included Omar Berrada, Christopher Vivell, and a certain Dan Ashworth.
Ashworth was Sporting Director while Jason Wilcox worked directly under him as the Technical Director. His job was to streamline operations, bring focus to recruitment, and support the club’s new football structure.
Just 5 months after taking the job though, Dan Ashworth was gone. Reportedly there were many disagreements around the transition from Erik ten Hag to Ruben Amorim, but we may never know the full story.
Whatever the reason for Ashworth’s departure, there was now a big void that someone needed to fill. Wilcox had, true to form, impressed early on, and stepped into Dan Ashworth’s shoes unofficially to begin with, before formerly taking on the responsibility.
Whether this was a blinding piece of tactical work by Wilcox or just a coincidence I don’t know, but he had just outmanoeuvred one of the most respected figures in English football. Dan Ashworth’s appointment was the one everybody was taking about. United lost a lot of money taking him from Newcastle only to fire him 5 months later, yet it was Wilcox who succeeded in the role.
Let’s look at why.
His Approach
On some level, it’s funny to think Jason Wilcox is the most powerful football figure at Manchester United.
He was part of the team that stole the league from us in the 1994/95 season – by a single point – and he spent over a decade developing the talent that would dominate the league at our Manchester rivals.
On another level, he is absolutely the right man for the job. On paper anyway. His background as a player then in coaching, his proven talent for spotting and developing stars of tomorrow, and his focus on academy players all sit perfectly with Manchester United’s DNA. His approach is Manchester United all over.
He’s Northern too, which helps.
His main focus seems to be:
- Youth First Recruitment: Our signings since Wilcox took over have all been notably young. Ayden Heaven was 18, Partrick Dorgu was 20, Diego Leon was 18. He seems interested in buying players with potential, both on the pitch and on the balance sheet, as well as bringing academy talent through the ranks.
- Premier League Proven Players: When it comes to big money signings, the focus seems to be on players who we know can handle the English game. How many hundreds of millions have we spent on players who have set the world alight in Italy or France, only to get the the Premier League and flounder? No more. We are not taking expensive risks anymore. Matheus Cunha proved himself at Wolves and was still only 26 when he signed, as an example.
A lot of you have been asking the same question since we unveiled Matheus as a Red ❓🔢#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 13, 2025
Obviously there will be exceptions, the attempt to sign Viktor Gyokeres for instance, but these will be exceptional circumstances. Gyokeres had a relationship with Amorim and was also scoring goals against big opposition for fun. It’s not the same level of risk as spending £64 million on Hojlund, or £82 million on Antony.
Jim Ratcliffe obviously trusts him. In 2025 he said:
“We still do not have data analysis at United. All we’ve got is Jason’s eyes”
In other words, for the time being at least, Manchester United are relying on Jason Wilcox to shape recruitment. He is the primary filter for all football decisions, and that level of responsibility would not be given without great trust.
He’s not front and centre as far as the general public are concerned, by Jason Wilcox is the main man at Manchester United.