Everton are bringing in Nick Cox to become their new technical director with him poised to leave his post as Manchester United’s academy director
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Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United is presented with the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award by Nick Cox on May 25, 2023
Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United is presented with the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award by Nick Cox on May 25, 2023
Everton are bringing in Manchester United’s academy director Nick Cox to become their new technical director. After announcing on March 7 that director of football Kevin Thelwell would be leaving the Blues when his contract expired this summer, the Blues stated they would transition to a wider sporting leadership team.
And the club is now in the midst of a recruitment and player development revamp under new chief executive Angus Kinnear, who has been followed from Leeds United by transfer advisor Nick Hammond.
Last Thursday, it emerged that James Smith, who is director of scouting and recruitment at Manchester City, is returning to Everton having previously worked under David Moyes at the club between 2003-13.
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Smith then followed the Scot to Manchester United. However, the swoop for Cox, who will take up a newly created role at Everton, is considered to be a considerable coup for The Friedkin Group.
As reported in the i Paper, Cox’s departure is understood to be amicable, but once he was headhunted for the Blues job he was excited by the opportunity. He feels it is the right time to step away from United, having turned down roles at various clubs as well as governing bodies in recent years.
Considerable investment is planned in Everton’s academy and targeting Cox shows how serious they are.
Brought to Old Trafford from Sheffield United in May 2016, he has recently earned his Uefa Pro Licence and has won almost universal praise for the culture he has created at United’s academy, which has cemented its reputation among the most successful at producing first-team players.
Cox has also been a very public face of the academy, regularly giving interviews and posting monthly bulletins on the club website on such matters.