Jason Wilcox joins Manchester United as technical director

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Southampton has stated that they have “reluctantly agreed” to allow Director of Football Jason Wilcox to depart for Manchester United.

Both clubs reached an agreement on an “acceptable compensation fee” to facilitate his transition.

The former Blackburn Rovers and England winger, 53, joined the Championship club last summer.

Wilcox will assume the role of technical director at United, where the club stated he “will collaborate across all technical facets of the football department.”

He previously spent 11 years at Manchester City, serving as academy director before joining the south-coast side.

“Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future,” Southampton announced in a statement.

“The club will continue to work closely with Russell Martin and his back-room team to ensure they have all the support they require moving forwards.”

Manchester United are also looking to hire Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth.

After expressing his desire to join Manchester United, he was placed on gardening leave by his current club.

Omar Berrada, a former senior executive at Manchester City, is slated to assume the role of chief executive at Manchester United come summer.

These developments come in the wake of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s recent acquisition of a minority stake in the club, a move that placed his Ineos Group in charge of football operations.