Jason Wilcox held initial doubts about appointing Ruben Amorim as Man United manager | OneFootball

Manchester United sporting director Jason Wilcox held “reservations” last year about appointing Ruben Amorim as head coach due to the “challenges” the Portuguese’s system presents, according to a report.

Wilcox, 53, joined the executive structure at Old Trafford as a technical director in April 2024, having previously worked as the director of football at Southampton.

But it proved a rapid year of acceleration at his new club with Wilcox taking over the responsibilities of sporting director following Dan Ashworth’s dismissal in December, having “struck a chord” with Sir Jim Ratcliffe – United’s co-owner and leader of the football operation.

Wilcox was officially appointed as the club’s sporting director earlier this month but this was simply confirmation of a role he was already occupying. And throughout his time at the Theatre of Dreams, the 53-year-old has held far greater levels of influence than a technical director would usually enjoy.

The Athletic reveals Wilcox was involved in a “high-level” meeting last May – prior to Ashworth’s arrival from Newcastle United – where the club’s hierarchy decided to relieve Erik ten Hag of his duties following the 2023/24 campaign, only to reverse this decision after a suitable replacement could not be found.

“Wilcox was in Monaco in May earlier that year, at the gathering where it was initially agreed that Ten Hag would be relieved of his duties, only for Old Trafford’s key decision-makers to turn back from that outcome once talks with potential successors broke down.”

One name discussed on this list of candidates to take over from Ten Hag was Amorim with United, including Wilcox, holding two separate conversations with the then-Sporting manager. But they “favoured other candidates, specifically Thomas Tuchel” – the German manager, who was available that summer having left Bayern Munich.

At this juncture, Wilcox raised a number of issues with appointing Amorim which may have swung the club’s decision to prefer Tuchel and, ultimately, keep Ten Hag.

“Wilcox was one of those to hold reservations over hiring Amorim from Lisbon’s Sporting CP at the time. He raised the challenges of changing to a back-three system during the first summer of a new executive, understanding the extensive recruitment that would be required, and also highlighted the rarity of a team winning the Premier League using that formation,” The Athletic reveals.

Ten Hag maintained his position as United manager and his contract was extended by a year. Amorim remained Lisbon and Tuchel eventually replaced Gareth Southgate as the England national manager a few months later.

Fast-forward to the end of October, with United having endured a difficult start to the season under Ten Hag, which, in reality, was simply a continuation of last year’s struggles, the club decided to pull the trigger on the Dutchman for the second occasion in the space of six months.

But this time they followed through.

Amorim was again considered as an option to replace Ten Hag with Sporting having enjoyed a brilliant start to the 2024/25 campaign, both in Liga Portugal and the Champions League. And the Portuguese coach quickly became the club’s first-choice candidate with Wilcox backing the decision.

“But by the following autumn, as Sporting continued to blaze through Portugal’s Primeira Liga and get results in the Champions League, Wilcox supported the decision to appoint Amorim, having led United’s technical evaluation of Ten Hag’s potential successors, which identified him as the leading candidate.”

It is curious, however, that the 53-year-old executive’s concerns around appointing Amorim in May – teething issues with a back-three system; the enormous outlay involved in restructuring the squad to suit the set-up; and the fact that it’s a formation which rarely works in English football – were now sufficiently assuaged to be overcome by October, without a transfer window or pre-season to help the transition.

And the dismal season which unfolded following Amorim’s appointment, constituting the Reds’ worst campaign in the history of the Premier League, certainly validated Wilcox’s initial concerns, but calls into question his change of mind five months later.

However, the sporting director has struck up an “excellent relationship” with Amorim which surpasses the one he held with Ten Hag and United are intent on fully backing the 40-year-old coach this summer, despite the dismal season.

“[Wilcox] has since established an excellent relationship with the Portuguese, regularly watching his training sessions, and the pair speak daily. Wilcox had good dialogue with Ten Hag towards the end of the Dutchman’s reign, too, but the connection with Amorim is much stronger.”

It remains to be seen whether this axis of power – Wilcox and Amorim, overseen by chief executive Omar Berrada, who was a strong influence in appointing the Sporting manager – will yield the success Ratcliffe promised last year when INEOS’ co-ownership bid was accepted by the Glazer family.

The evidence from their first season at the helm at Old Trafford says not; but their sophomore year could prove revelatory if Amorim’s success in Portugal is even half replicated.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

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