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Manchester United are struggling to pay Southampton the compensation they want for their sporting director, Jason Wilcox. Moreover, the Championship club believe the Red Devils have broken promises in their pursuit of the Englishman.
After the initial announcement that INEOS were to take over the running of the football side of the club in December, they were rapid to appoint new board members, Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir Dave Brailsford.
The petro-chemicals group also made the incisive, shocking move to appoint Manchester City’s Omar Berrada, as the club’s new CEO. Unfortunately, progress in bringing in new blood has stalled ever since.
First, it was reported that they had agreed a deal with Dan Ashworth to be the next sporting director and Newcastle promptly put him on gardening leave. However, despite claims the two clubs are close to agreeing a £10m compensation fee, INEOS have been left frustrated by a lack of progress.
Furthermore, it broke last week that Jason Wilcox had expressed his desire to join the revolution at United and the Saints were reportedly “annoyed” by the move as they push for promotion from the Championship.
Wilcox then resigned from the club to try and force through a deal, but much like the Ashworth situation, United are still struggling to reach an agreement with his current club.
GIVEMESPORT have added a further layer to the story by stating that “Man United are struggling to pay compensation for Jason Wilcox from Southampton, delaying any recruitment progression at the club”.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has also suggested that the Saints are irked by the Red Devils reported breaking of promises during the deal for the former City man: “I would expect Wilcox not to have to wait a year and serve out his notice, but it’s clear that Southampton expect more money.”
“And their disappointment is not just over the number, it’s over the fact that they believe Manchester United committed to a higher number in writing. And had they not done so, Southampton perhaps wouldn’t have granted the permission to speak to Wilcox in the first place.”
A recent report has suggested that United’s bold approach has “upset” other English teams in their pursuit of recruiting top talent to take the Red Devils to the next level.
However, it was also reported that the slow pace of progress for vital cogs in the new-look team has irritated Erik ten Hag, who believes he has been “left in limbo” by the lack of progress in deals for vital cogs for the upcoming summer window such as Ashworth and Wilcox.
Nobody can critique INEOS’ ambition, as they have gone after some of the most sought-after and respected names in English football. Agreeing a deal with employees that clubs are desperate not to lose and especially mid-season was always going to be an uphill task.
Nonetheless, the longer it runs on without a deal for either Wilcox or Ashworth, doubts will begin to creep in over whether the Red Devils can successfully execute the type of transfer window fans expect from INEOS in their first summer in charge.
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