Wilcox drops Man Utd transfer spoilers that show club are FINALLY getting it right

Jason Wilcox has outlined the most ‘important’ traits Manchester United are looking for when signing new players, and his comments about the club’s transfer strategy suggest United have finally turned the corner.

Perhaps the biggest issue to blight Man Utd in the post-Ferguson era is their disastrous record in the transfer market. There’s been no shortage of funds made available for big-money buys. Instead, the issue lays in the identification of talent and overpaying for underperformers.

In just the 2020s, United have spent vast sums on the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Hojlund, all of whom flopped at Old Trafford.

Furthermore, the club could not resist signing players who were superstars in name, but entering the autumn or even winters of their careers.

Ill-advised moves for the likes of Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo (second spell) did not work out.

Casemiro remains the ultimate professional and has worked his way back into Ruben Amorim’s starting eleven, but there aren’t many clubs who’d be willing to drop £70m (add-ons included) on a 30-year-old and there’s good reason for that.

However, United showed signs of finally adopting a more sensible approach to recruitment once INEOS took control of all footballing matters.

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox among those pulling the strings, United haven’t signed a single player in the INEOS era who was older than 26 at the time of their arrival.

Furthermore, the club put greater emphasis on signing players with Premier League experience in the most recent window. That tactic has already paid dividends with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha who have made instant impacts at Old Trafford.

Now, United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, has lifted the lift on United’s transfer plans moving forwards.

Speaking on the Inside Carrington podcast, Wilcox said: “You have to bring players in that bring something different to the changing room, but the most important thing is that whenever we’re bringing in a player who comes here, they have to want to improve and they have to be a team player, and understand what it means to be part of a successful team.

“It’s not about putting the Harlem Globetrotters together. If I look at the successful Man United teams, there was very functional players that would die for the badge and there were some mavericks.

“When you talk about (Eric) Cantona, when you hear anybody talk about him, he was an ultimate professional.

“When I look now and I see the car park, the report time is at 9.45am, you see the lads coming in at 8.30am, 8.45am, preparing for training. This is a good sign.”

Wilcox added: “Last year’s summer window was a lot more chaotic than this one. This one was really calm. We knew the plan. We knew which players we were going to target. We had our lists. We knew which areas of the pitch we needed to improve.

“Right now I’m having weekly meetings with the recruitment team on the different profiles, the age bracket, the cost, are they attainable… with Ruben as well. It’s a real joined-up approach when we sign a player. It’s so many people that are involved in the process. The data team are involved in the process.

“We will then focus all our attention on certain players, and it’s really important that we do the background checks around are they clean-living professionals? This is really important.”

Wilcox on Amorim

Much has been made of Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation and the Portuguese’s unwillingness to deviate, even at times when results are poor.

But according to Wilcox, Amorim is much more flexible with his tactical approach that he’s letting on, and even if he weren’t, the United board are 100 percent behind the manager who they believe is the right man for Man Utd.

“Ruben’s got a very clear idea,” continued Wilcox. “It’s a lot more flexible, the idea, than what people give it credit for.

“We’ve got to start with the end in mind and understand that the game model, how Manchester United are, is really important.

“We have to pull the jigsaw pieces together and put the jigsaw pieces together. We would love to have all the pieces in place where we can see a very clear picture, but whilst we’re building the picture, it’s even more difficult when you lose some football matches, because people start questioning things.”

Wilcox concluded: “But myself and Ruben, Omar, the ownership, we’re really clear on the direction of travel, and this is really important.”

Latest Man Utd news – Worst signing ever / Midfield reinforcements on the way

In other news, there’ll soon be a clear winner in the category of WORST Manchester United signing of all time if claims United are about to make a gut-wrenching decision are accurate.

Elsewhere, trusted United source, Andy Mitten, has insisted Man Utd will make TWO signings in central midfield in 2026.

First up is expected to be Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson who Mitten declared is “well-positioned” to make the move to Old Trafford.

That comes after TEAMtalk exclusively revealed United are already preparing a tempting bid for Anderson in January.

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