Jason Wilcox spills beans on Man United’s new and revamped transfer strategy | OneFootball

Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox has provided a detailed review of the club’s recruitment process, outlining how players are targeted and the profile of footballers they want moving forward.

Wilcox driving United’s revamped recruiting strategy

Upon assuming operational control of United in February last year, Sir Jim Ratcliffe embarked on a mission to implement a best-in-class football structure that could usher the club into a new era of success and glory.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, United’s recruitment has been incredibly poor, with large sums and wages forked out on stars who didn’t meet expectations.

However, a strategic shift in their recent recruitment now appears to be paying significant dividends. United have moved away from signing established superstars, instead focusing on promising youngsters and players with proven Premier League experience.

Central to this change is Wilcox, who sat down with club media and offered incredible insight into United’s transfer process.

Wilcox sheds light on United’s recruitment

Asked to describe how United’s recruitment works, Wilcox explained, “Last year’s summer window [2024] was a lot more chaotic than this one and this one was really calm. With this one, we knew the plan, we knew which players we were going to target, we had our lists, we knew which areas of the pitch we needed to improve.”

“These are continuous meetings with myself and Ruben [Amorim], with Chris Vivell and with his team underneath, where we are very clear on the profiles that we need. So, the brief will come from myself and Ruben, it goes into Chris, there is a lot of debate and discussion around the profiles that we need, and then the scouts will go into the market, we will combine that with the data team and then there will just be constant dialogue. ”

“Right now, I am having weekly meetings with the recruitment team on the different profiles, the age bracket, the cost, are they attainable, with Ruben as well, so it is a really joined-up approach.”

“When we sign a player, there are so many people that are involved in the process. The data team are involved in the process and we will then focus all our attention on certain players.”

He stressed the importance of Premier League experience, highlighting that such players can make an immediate impact. This philosophy directly informed the signings of Cunha and Mbeumo.

Wilcox continued, “Senne [Lammens], we were always looking at goalkeepers that have got huge potential. Senne was available and we decided to move, but it wasn’t a kneejerk reaction. Tony Coton was putting Senne on my radar 12 months ago and he was relentless with it.”

“This guy is going to be a top signing for us and he has started well, but he has got to keep it going. He is very reflective and he is very professional with his approach.”

On Benjamin Sesko, the United chief tipped the Slovenian to be an amazing player for United both for the present and future.

Wilcox particularly hailed Sesko’s movements, which open up spaces for Mbeumo and Cunha to hurt opposition defences.

The 54-year-old divulged that United have a long-term plan, which is in close alignment with Amorim’s idea of how football should be played. Amorim has come under criticism for his perceived inability to adapt and make changes to his football approach, but Wilcox insisted that the Portuguese coach is more flexible than most people think.

Wilcox further remarked, “The transfer windows, I know we have certain blocks where it’s in the summer and in the winter, but really we are working on recruitment year-round. We are thinking about it constantly, thinking about the squad, thinking about which players’ contracts will be starting to come to an end and the planning is really important. It’s really important that we are on top of things.”

“In the summer, for all the players that we signed, there were big clubs wanting to sign them and they shut out all the other clubs because they wanted to come to Man United.”

United are next in action on Saturday when they face Tottenham Hotspur in North London.

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