Everton poach Man Utd academy chief in stunning coup

EXCLUSIVE

The highly-rated Nick Cox will become Everton’s most senior football executive

cancel email WhatsApp link share Share bookmark Save

share cancel email WhatsApp link bookmark

Everton have pulled off a considerable coup by luring highly-rated Manchester United academy chief Nick Cox to become their new technical director.

The Toffees are in the middle of a behind-the-scenes revamp under new chief executive Angus Kinnear and have moved for Cox, who has been at Old Trafford for nearly a decade and has led the youth operation since 2022, to become their most senior executive on the footballing side.

The i Paper understands that Cox will have a wide-ranging remit in his new role and that Everton still plan to appoint an academy director to replace Gareth Prosser, who left to join Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates last month.

Cox’s arrival comes after Everton brought Manchester City’s director of scouting and recruitment James Smith back to the club in a senior scouting role.

Why is Cox leaving Man Utd?

Cox is leaving Old Trafford to join forces with Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear (Photo: Getty)

Having appointed Kinnear at the end of the season, the Friedkin Group (TFG) is assembling a formidable football leadership group and Cox’s appointment is further proof of the club’s new-found draw under American ownership.

Cox’s departure is understood to be totally amicable, but once he was directly headhunted for the Everton role he was instantly excited by the opportunity and felt it was the right time to step away from United.

He has turned down various technical director and sporting director roles at Premier League, EFL and clubs in Europe as well as multiple opportunities with governing bodies in recent years.

Cox will remain at United for the coming months to support a smooth transition, with a succession plan already underway to ensure that youth development continues.

The former Watford and Sheffield United academy director has recently earned his Uefa Pro Licence and has won almost universal praise for the culture he has created at United’s academy, which has cemented its reputation among the most successful at producing first-team players on his watch.

He has also been a very public face of the academy, regularly giving interviews and posting monthly bulletins on the club website.

What else is changing at Everton?

While Cox is not taking a job specifically focused on youth development, his expertise in academy matters will come in useful with Everton planning to restructure their academy operations after Prosser’s exit. James Vaughan, the former head of academy recruitment and player pathways, left in April.

As expected when TFG completed their takeover at the turn of the year, it has been a period of unprecedented change at Everton ahead of their move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in August.

Your next read

After Kevin Thelwell’s departure they have opted to move away from the director of football, instead creating a “broader, flatter” structure with experts in recruitment, data and player trading. Cox represents another key appointment in that hierarchy.

Kinnear moved from Leeds United at the end of the season and has been joined by ally Nick Hammond, who is head of trading and negotiating. Chris Howarth has been appointed as head of strategy while they will also announce a new head of football operations shortly. Corporate headhunters Nolan Partners have been tasked with finding the right candidate.

Who is on Everton’s transfer wishlist?

Huge change off the field is set to be mirrored on it with Everton looking to bring in many new signings (potentially into double figures) to support David Moyes.

Although there will be no incomings this week, things will ramp up in the final week of June and a busy July is expected as Everton look to have new recruits in place for the start of pre-season.

Kyle Walker emerged as a possible target at right-back earlier this week and the England international is understood to be open to the move, although the club have other targets. The i Paper understands that Kyle Walker-Peters, who will become a free agent at the end of the month, is also on their list.

Everton have opened talks with Villarreal over striker Thierno Barry but will not pay the £33m release clause for the 22-year-old. While there are funds available to spend this summer, Everton intend to “box clever” in the transfer window with so many holes to fill in their squad.

Click here to read article