Manchester City director hands in resignation ahead of Premier League switch

Jason Wilcox has handed in his resignation at Manchester City amid strong interest in his services from Premier League side Southampton, according to reports.

The move in the direction of St Mary’s comes just hours ahead of a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides, as they meet with a place in the final-four of the competition up for grabs.

While City will likely understand Wilcox’s decision to leave the football club, it will no doubt be a huge blow given his history and success in developing the club’s academy system and strengthening the link between Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad and the City Football Academy.

Nevertheless, Jason Wilcox has made a significant step in the direction of taking on a more senior role in first-team football, as per reports emerging across Wednesday.

According to the information of Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail, Manchester City’s academy director Jason Wilcox has handed in his resignation ahead of an imminent switch to fellow Premier League side Southampton.

It is reported that the 51 year-old informed the Premier League champions’ hierarchy on Tuesday that he wanted to ‘take the opportunity to move into first-team football’, having been a huge success at academy level for the Etihad club.

That level of success has subsequently seen a number of City’s rivals show an admiration in his talents, including Newcastle United in 2021 following their takeover by Saudi Arabia.

Jason Wilcox is often credited for the rapid rise of some of Manchester City’s finest young talents, and oversaw the development of the likes of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis – with the trio now being mainstay’s in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad.

Should Wilcox complete his move to the south coast in the coming weeks and months, then it would mark yet another deal between the two sides, following a long list of exchanges completed during the last summer transfer window.

On the player front, all of Gavin Bazunu, Samuel Edozie, Romeo Lavia, and Juan Larios completed permanent moves to Southampton, with City retaining favourable clauses and bonuses in each of their respective contracts.

Joe Shields – an integral member of Manchester City’s scouting department – also completed a move south to join Southampton’s senior recruitment team, before leaving for Chelsea in a more senior position just a few months later.