After Vitor Pereira’s sacking shed new light on the impact of Matheus Cunha on Wolves last year, Man Utd have received another reminder of a second miracle man at Old Trafford in Jason Wilcox.
Matheus Cunha’s impact on Wolves last season is clearer than ever after Wolves sacked Vitor Pereira due to a winless start to the season.
At least they are still in the Premier League for now, which cannot be said for the team Jason Wilcox left for Man Utd.
Wilcox was at Southampton for less than a year, but his reputation has kept improving after leaving because Southampton are in free fall since his departure.
Jason Wilcox’s Southampton contribution is ageing like wine
Jason Wilcox joined Southampton as their director of football in the summer of 2023, when the team was fresh off a relegation from the Premier League.
In just one summer, he appointed Russell Martin as the manager and injected the team with some exciting youthful options.
The result was an immediate return to the Premier League via play-offs, with Wilcox’s decision to hire Martin and move to a youth-centric transfer policy paying rich dividends.
However, he couldn’t be there to celebrate the promotion with Southampton, because he had achieved a huge promotion of his own.
United poached him away from Southampton in April 2024, initially as the technical director, and he would later become the director of football upon Dan Ashworth’s departure.
United’s masterstrokes in the transfer window since his arrival are there for all to see, but more stark is the condition of Southampton since his departure.
Back in the top division last season, Southampton went straight back down, with Martin getting sacked halfway through the season.
Since Martin’s sacking, Simon Rusk stepped up as the interim manager before Ivan Juric arrived, and left, since he failed at his firefighting job.
The Saints then appointed Will Still for a Championship campaign, and with the club flirting with successive relegations, standing 21st in the table, he has been let go as well to complete a fourth managerial departure in less than a year.
Wilcox left a club on the rise and ready to bounce back to the Premier League. About 18 months after his departure, they have cycled through four managers and could well find themselves in the third tier at the end of this season.
Wilcox has brought similar pedigree to Man Utd
It is not a coincidence that United have moved to a youth-centric approach as well since Wilcox’s appointment, and in Ruben Amorim, he has hitched his wagon to a long-term name.
Amorim has been backed to the hilt by Ineos, and his relationship with Wilcox is as rosy as ever, despite the club having to go through some difficult times.
Now that Amorim is looking like he’s starting to turn it around, Wilcox and Ineos’ decision to stick by him will look like a stroke of genius.
United only need to look at Southampton’s travails to understand how successful an executive they have as their director of football.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
