Manchester United’s backroom staff has undergone a serious shakeup over the past 12 months under Ineos.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos experts have been ruthless since taking over at Manchester United, axing practically the entire existing football operations staff.
John Murtough and Richard Arnold were two high-profile exits in recent times, with Ineos even getting rid of Dan Ashworth, admitting a mistake in hiring him.
Ratcliffe has criticised the way United was run during the previous regime, and currently, big decisions are made by CEO Omar Berrada, Director of Football Jason Wilcox, and, to a lesser extent, Head of Recruitment Christopher Vivell.
This summer, the rebuild will reach academy level as under-18 head coach Adam Lawrence has departed United as he seeks to make himself in senior football. This was a major blow considering the impact he had over the two seasons he led the team.
Now, Head of Academy Nick Cox has also decided to seek new challenges with a Mason Mount-approved figure likely to succeed him.
Mason Mount involved in Manchester United training.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United will suffer Nick Cox blow
Cox has overseen the resurrection of United’s academy to a country-leading level; however, now his future rests elsewhere.
This emerged on Wednesday, with claims that Cox is set to become Everton’s Technical Director this summer, which is a much grander job role, with more power, so it is easy to see why he made the decision.
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This loss is a major blow to Ineos’ conscious effort to bolster United’s youth system, which is the heart of the club, and in this heart, Cox was the LAD artery, or put simply, the most important piece.
The impact of Cox has been huge, as his relationships with players and coaches have seen a golden age for the academy, with several impressive talents on the cusp of a breakthrough.
He had played a key role in securing Chido Obi, while Cox also helped convince Alejandro Garnacho to join back in 2020.
Filling his boots will be a huge task, but Ineos might already have the replacement lined up.
Manchester United may have ex-Chelsea Jim Fraser lined up
As much as Cox is a massive loss, there are figures who can replace him, and Ineos must get a top-of-the-range option to do so.
This could be the case with United potentially lining up Jim Fraser for the role, according to reports in May. The former Chelsea academy boss is viewed by Ratcliffe as a ‘key capture’ for the club’s future.
Conor Gallagher, Reece James, Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, and Levi Colwill are some of the names Fraser helped bring through at Stamford Bridge. Gallagher in particular praised Fraser’s work as ‘mind-blowing’, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.
Mason Mount is another player helped in development by Fraser. United bought Mount from Chelsea, and the No.7 has described Fraser as being ‘so influential’ in his development, which suggests he may have an endorsement within the club already.
Fraser, as Head of Academy, now looks like a simple deal for United to complete.