'No way' - Jason Wilcox Man United transfer approach spells bad news for Ten Hag

The sight of Erik ten Hag and Jason Wilcox sitting down for breakfast in the Carrington canteen has been a regular one in the last couple of weeks. As Ten Hag said on Thursday, they need to build an “intense” relationship in a short period of time and coffee and croissants are helping.

With Dan Ashworth still on gardening leave ahead of his appointment as Manchester United sporting director, it is technical director Wilcox who is essentially running the show at the moment. While Old Trafford figures haven’t ruled out a breakthrough with the Magpies allowing them to parachute Ashworth in in time to play a role this summer, they are planning for the window with Wilcox as the most senior football executive.

In time his brief is likely to be narrowed and Ashworth will eventually take charge of recruitment, but in what is a vital first summer for Ineos, it is Wilcox tasked with being the main man. So he has had an intense start to life in the United goldfish bowl, one dominated by meetings and attempts at getting to know people. He is a regular presence in the canteen but as well as building a relationship with Ten Hag, he is close with Sir Dave Brailsford.

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A United source described Wilcox as the “connector” between the current management team and Ineos. At the moment he is essentially considered a direct replacement for John Murtough when it comes to the transfer window, with support from the team Murtough had, which includes head of recruitment Steve Brown, director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves and deputy football director Andy O'Boyle.

Much of Wilcox's work for the moment focuses on planning for the summer window and he has held exploratory meetings with agents over the last couple of weeks. The 53-year-old, a Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers during his playing days, has built a gilded reputation as a football executive in recent years. One source spoken described him simply as a "good football man."

Another source who has dealt with Wilcox and United's former football director Murtough said they were "totally different characters." There was a feeling within the industry that Murtough had been too willing to give Ten Hag what he wanted when it came to incomings.

The deals for Casemiro (£70million) and Antony (£85million) were raised as an example and it was said there was "no way" Wilcox would have signed those off at those fees. "He is a tough negotiator, he is prepared to walk away from a deal if it is not right for his club and that is what United need," a source said.

An executive at a club who dealt with him over a deal for a City youngster described him as a "ruthless operator who isn't afraid of upsetting people but does it with the best intentions." Sir Jim Ratcliffe once labelled United as the "dumb money" in the transfer market and he wants a shrewder recruitment operation as he reshapes the club's football department.

Everyone at Carrington is aware Wilcox has been empowered as a result of his appointment by Ineos, while there was speculation over Murtough's future as soon as Ratcliffe's deal went through. Ashworth has spent much of his gardening leave watching son Zac during a fruitful loan spell at Bolton Wanderers and when he eventually starts work, Wilcox's role will become more refined, working with what is likely to be a head coach position on the technical side of the football structure.

He has been starting to get an understanding of that role as well, talking with Ten Hag about his style and watching the first-team train at Carrington, including taking in one session alongside Ratcliffe and Brailsford. He will be feeding his thoughts on the current squad, manager and coaching back up the chain to the key decision-makers at Ineos.

Wilcox will certainly be aware of the scale of the challenge ahead. Watching on from the plush seats at Wembley, he would have spent his first 70 minutes as an official United representative wondering what all the fuss was about. Then came 20 minutes of madness, a social media meltdown and a furious manager and he had his answer.

He has now attended all three games since he was appointed, sitting next to Brailsford and O'Boyle for the Old Trafford fixtures against Sheffield United and Burnley. O'Boyle's title is likely to be refined once Ashworth sets out his structure but he has impressed Brailsford since their investment into the club went through.

Wilcox's appointment at United was championed by incoming chief executive Omar Berrada, who he worked closely with at Manchester City. At City, he was eventually academy director and helped to make sure the age-group sides were mimicking the first team so that youngsters were ready for promotion. He is trying to build a similar 'game model' at United.

He left the Etihad to take up a director of football post at Southampton, swapping the prestige of working for City with the greater power of working for the Saints. It was Wilcox who identified Russell Martin as the outstanding candidate to be St Mary's boss last summer and he led recruitment decisions, but relegation from the Premier League also diluted some of his power.

Southampton sold five players for fees of than £12.5million in the summer and some of those decisions were driven by a financial necessity rather than Wilcox reshaping the squad. Nevertheless, he was seen as a powerful figure on the south coast and someone keen to project that image to contemporaries at other clubs.

Speaking on Thursday, Ten Hag said of his discussions with Wilcox: "We talk every day from now, from last week. In a very short period we have to build an intense relationship. We are working now to a plan – we had a plan already before he stepped in, and of course we have to get aligned. It takes time but we don't have so much time.

"There’s always a lot of work. And it is normal when you go into a transfer window, but the injuries had a big impact. We know also we are still below the levels from the expectations that Manchester United has, so we have to catch up and I'm now going into my fifth window. Two windows were quite okay, two we missed. We have to make new improvements this summer. But there is a base in this squad that is very good."

Wilcox's work will also have a focus on the academy pathway, although former technical director Darren Fletcher now has a more formal role linking the first team with the academy. Wilcox's work in that area at City was a success and it is part of the reason Berrada values him so highly.

In hindsight, perhaps his greatest triumph at City was convincing the club not to release Cole Palmer at 16. Wilcox advocated for Palmer to be handed a professional deal and history has shown that to be the correct call.

In a summer when he is set to be front and centre of United's recruitment, he will need to show all of those skills and more in his biggest challenge to date.

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