Premier League base camp dwellers Southampton FC are in the fight of their lives in the 2022-23 league campaign as the south coast club faces the real prospect of dropping back down to compete in the Championship for the first time since 2011-12 before coming back up to the top flight of English football after a seven-year absence.
Despite sacking former boss Ralph Hasenhüttl and replacing the Austrian with Luton Town boss Nathan Jones, Saints are currently on a run of six matches without a win between the two managers, with fans already questioning why club owners Sports Republic turned to Jones given the severity of the current situation at St. Mary’s.
But now, according to reports from football insider Fabrizio Romano, Saints have formally approached Manchester City’s Jason Wilcox with a view of making him the club’s new director of football.
Southampton have now approached Manchester City on hiring highly rated academy director Jason Wilcox as new director of football. ⚪️🔴 #SaintsFC
Southampton will offer Wilcox to lead infrastructure, first team, Academy, recruitment and sports performance and analysis. pic.twitter.com/XW5lMxp0uY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 6, 2023
Wilcox has previously been in a position of prominence on the blue half of Manchester as City’s academy director for the last five years after being promoted up the internal ladder in 2017 in the wake of first coming to the club as an academy coach in 2012 before being made the U18′s head coach.
Under his tenure, City developed quite a number of high-level young talents in their ranks, many of who have gone on to greener pastures while others still continue to look for pathways of longevity at the Etihad Stadium.
Saints have already benefitted from Wilcox’s work, however, when in the summer window the club prized away Roméo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu, Samuel Edozie, and Juan Larios for a combined £36m in a number of deals – supported by additional moves for Sékou Mara and Armel Bella-Kotchap – that saw Southampton focus on high-ceiling young talent to build a future around.
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