Revealed: Why Man Utd's new sporting director Jason Wilcox had 'reservations' about hiring Ruben Amorim to replace Erik ten Hag before changing his mind

United poached Wilcox from Southampton as their technical director last year. The plan was for him to work in tandem with new sporting director Dan Ashworth, who had been hired from Newcastle. However, the pair worked for just a few months together after Ratcliffe sacked Ashworth last December. Wilcox has since been named as United's sporting director in internal and external communications.

It has been revealed by The Athletic that Wilcox was among those who met Amorim and other coaches when United began to consider replacements for Erik ten Hag last May, before making a U-turn after the Dutchman's tactical masterclass in the FA Cup final against City. Wilcox had concerns about Amorim's back-three system and the squad overhaul it would require. He also reportedly said it was very hard to win the Premier League with a back three, with Antonio Conte's Chelsea in 2017 are the only team to do so. However, Wilcox began to change his mind about Amorim upon seeing how his Sporting CP made an explosive start to the last campaign.

Wilcox is said to have a very good relationship with United's co-owner Ratcliffe, who he often sits next to at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe told The Times earlier this year of Wilcox: "When I listen to Jason speak, I get what he’s saying. He’s a warm character, he’s got a sense of humour, he knows what he’s talking about."

Wilcox played a key role in the signing of Ayden Heaven in January and in bringing Matheus Cunha to the club earlier this month although he failed in his pursuit of Liam Delap, who has joined Chelsea instead. The sporting director is still working on a deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford and will doubtless be trying to recruit more players to help Amorim assemble a squad to make up for last year's woeful season.