Manchester United are poised to hire David Horseman as the former Bristol Rovers boss prepares to reunite with Jason Wilcox.
Manchester United’s coaching ranks have been through some real changes this summer.
United’s academy director Nick Cox has moved on to Everton, while Under-18 boss Adam Lawrence decided to move on.
David Hughes has become Newport County boss, while Paul McShane has joined Lee Grant at Huddersfield Town.
United have been forced into a reshuffle, with Jonny Evans appointed as head of loans and pathways.
United are now set to hire David Horseman as the Under-21 assistant alongside Travis Binnion, replacing the departing Hughes.
Scarborough Athletic v Forest Green Rovers - Emirates FA Cup First Round
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David Horseman’s connection to Jason Wilcox
Horseman has recent managerial experience on his CV, having taken charge of Forest Green Rovers in 2023.
The 41-year-old only lasted five months in the job, winning seven of his 29 games in charge before leaving the club by mutual consent.
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Horseman then became first-team coach at Bristol Rovers and took interim charge after Matt Taylor’s exit in December.
Now heading to United, Horseman is set to reunite with Jason Wilcox, having worked together at Southampton.
Horseman served as manager of Southampton’s Under-21s, with Wilcox becoming their director of football in 2023.
The pair only worked together for a brief period, but Wilcox has surely been a driving factor behind Horseman’s arrival.
Horseman has previously admitted ‘falling out’ with Wilcox, as he found himself in demand from Inter Miami, Reading and Forest Green Rovers.
Ruben Selles wanted Horseman as his assistant at Reading or Inter Miami, whilst Forest Green had eyes on him to become their manager.
Speaking to The Bristol Post, Horseman admitted that Wilcox thought he was touting his name to multiple clubs in an attempt to get out of Southampton.
Horseman maintains that was not the case, and he would have been happy to stay with Wilcox at Southampton if Forest Green’s offer hadn’t arrived.
“I was always planning on going back to the B team, I knew that anyway and I loved it,” said Horseman. “Some of my best memories are with the Southampton B team. What ended up happening, I went on holiday and I got a phone call from Ruben offering me the assistant manager job at Reading. So Jason Wilcox comes in and in week one of his job he gets a phone call from Reading approaching me to be their assistant manager. I was in Ibiza so it probably wasn’t the best time to make a decision.
“So Ruben was down to the last two for Inter Miami with Messi and had just been offered the Reading job and I would have gone as assistant manager to one of those two. I don’t know where I wanted to go. I was more than happy to go to Reading because I really like Ruben. He’s brilliant at what he does.
“After a couple of days, I was flying back. I was actually then starting to read up on Reading and realised it’s in a little bit of a mess at the moment. I’m not in a financial position where I could go a month or two without getting paid, so I turned that one down. The following week, a friend of mine, Gary Probert, put in a word for me to Forest Green who had just sacked Duncan Ferguson.
“So week two or three, we’ve basically just gone back to pre-season at Southampton and I get the second approach. I’ve been approached by Reading and approached by Forest Green. It looks like I’m tagging my CV around everywhere. I never applied for anything. I then had a little bit of a falling out with Jason Wilcox in the short-term because he thought I was desperate to get out and I was more than delighted to stay,” he added.
David Horseman on Tyler Dibling
Wilcox and Horseman clearly resolved that issue, and are now set to join forces at Old Trafford.
Wilcox seemingly values Horseman’s work at Southampton highly and will be trusting him to develop United’s talents for the future.
Intriguingly, Horseman played a key role in the development of Southampton wonderkid Tyler Dibling.
United are interested in Dibling and may still look to pounce for the teenager after Southampton’s relegation to the Championship.
Horseman helped develop Dibling on the South Coast, and told Sky Sports that he thinks the winger can become a Champions League player.
Wilcox knows Dibling well enough himself, but if he wanted a second opinion, Horseman would be the perfect man to ask.