Manchester United might be about to make their most important signing in years

Crossing the divide in Manchester is a gutsy move, but former Manchester City academy director Jason Wilcox looks set to swap blue for red via a stint with Southampton.

With Sir Jim Radcliffe dismantling the footballing structure at United, appointing Wilcox as technical director would be another piece of the jigsaw in helping turn the tide at Old Trafford.

Wilcox has a methodical approach to creating an aligned vision both on and off the field. He was at the Saints when they appointed Russell Martin as manager, tasking him with delivering an immediate return to the Premier League and playing an attractive brand of football.

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Wilcox looks to create a positive culture where staff can thrive. He was described as ‘refreshingly honest’ on the Total Saints Podcast recently.

Speaking after officially starting his role at Southampton in July, Wilcox said: “My job is to come in and make sure we’ve got alignment where the first team manager plays a certain way and the academy teams play a certain way and then we can create this pathway for the younger players, that’s what I’m here to do.

“I think when you don’t have alignment and you have inconsistency in your work, it takes you a lot longer to get there and you're being reactive all the time. I’ve been brought up now in the last 12 years on complete alignment from top to bottom."

United have been starved of this off-field structure for quite some time, so the 53-year-old will be a welcome addition as he has the footballing pedigree to understand the demands of all aspects of club operations. He’s articulate in delivering messages to staff whom he expects to drive the