Jason Wilcox at Manchester United: sharp recruitment eye or a promotion too soon?

Jason Wilcox is at the centre of the storm at Manchester United. The director of football arrived at Old Trafford in April 2024 and now carries the weight of a project that is not working: the team sit 13th in the Premier League with one win from their last six matches. The criticism no longer comes only from the stands. It also comes from inside the dressing room, as Lisandro Martínez made clear after the European defeat at Atlético Madrid.

• Lisandro Martínez publicly criticised Jason Wilcox after the match against Atlético Madrid.
• Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League with one win in six games.
• Wilcox pushed for the arrival of Ruben Amorim, a bet that failed and damaged their relationship.
• Jim Ratcliffe keeps a close personal bond with Wilcox and once called him the best eyes at the club.
• The spending on Premier League-proven signings left no room to strengthen other positions.

Lisandro Martínez's criticism opens a window into the dressing room

Lisandro Martínez is not naive. At 28, the Argentine has a World Cup winner's medal and knows exactly what drives success and failure in a football team. When he launched into Wilcox after the defeat at the Metropolitano, he was not speaking only for himself. Other United players share his frustration with a director of football they believe should be delivering far more from his position.

Wilcox himself knows he is under scrutiny. The poor results cannot be pinned entirely on Michael Carrick, who is working with a squad unable to cope with the demands of fighting near the top of the Premier League and facing Europe's elite. The spotlight has moved from what happens on the pitch to the people making decisions above it.

A recruitment record that raises uncomfortable questions

Clubs live and die by recruitment, and Wilcox's United do not look healthy. Very few players signed under his watch have increased their market value, with Senne Lammens the clearest exception. Wilcox was offered the chance to bring in Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest but passed on the deal; a year later, Anderson joined Manchester City and his value had soared beyond what United could afford.

For Jim Ratcliffe, who wants to run the club like a business, the question of why so much money goes into players with so little financial return should be a permanent concern. Measuring player development as an asset is part of any sporting director's brief, and Wilcox has struggled to show convincing progress in that area.

From Manchester City academy to director of football in two quick steps

Wilcox arrived at United with less than a year as Southampton's director of football. His first executive job in senior football came at a Championship club. Before that, the former Blackburn and Leeds winger had built his reputation in youth development, eventually leading Manchester City's academy through a golden period that produced Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers.

That academy success still defines much of his prestige. Many people who have worked with him believe his true talent lies in youth development, not in running a first-team football operation at the highest level. The jump to United's top sporting role happened without enough intermediate steps to fully secure his authority.

The Amorim gamble and a broken working relationship

Omar Berrada's appointment as chief executive was a major reason why Wilcox returned to the north-west. The pair had worked together at City and shared significant mutual respect. Wilcox entered as technical director, expected to work under Dan Ashworth, an experienced sporting director from Brighton and Newcastle. But Ashworth lasted only five months under Ratcliffe, handing Wilcox a rapid promotion.

Some staff already at United grew frustrated with the number of arrivals connected to the City Football Group. The club had made plenty of mistakes over the years but still had strengths in certain areas, and turning it into a copy of one of its biggest rivals did not sit well internally.

Wilcox was influential in the appointment of Ruben Amorim, a coach with a very specific playing style who never had the right players to implement it. The experiment failed, and the relationship between the head coach and the director of football broke down over tactics and other issues.

League-proven signings and no room for a left-back

Under Wilcox, United have increasingly prioritised players with Premier League experience. This summer brought Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba for a combined £155m. The midfield needed an overhaul after Casemiro's exit and Manuel Ugarte's injury struggles, but that investment left no budget for other pressing needs.

The debate now centres on the lack of a left-back and a reliable back-up striker. The thinness of the squad was exposed against Atlético, when Carrick used 20-year-old centre-back Ayden Heaven out of position to cover for Luke Shaw. The planning does not hold up over a long season across three competitions.

Ratcliffe's faith and the cost of a change

Jim Ratcliffe has always defended Wilcox in public. In March 2025 he said that when he listens to Wilcox speak he understands what he is saying, praising his warmth and sense of humour. At matches the pair often sit together in conversation. The personal relationship is strong, and removing Wilcox would be one of the tougher calls for the minority owner.

With finances likely to be tight in January, planning is already focused on next summer. If results do not improve, Ratcliffe and Berrada will have to choose between backing Wilcox or listening to supporters with serious doubts about his work. Carrick holds far more credit with the fanbase, and sacking Wilcox would be the more popular move, though it would also mean admitting a failure from the top. Ratcliffe once said Wilcox had the best eyes at the club; the current reality does not allow him to look away.