Southampton announce Man City academy boss Jason Wilcox as their new director of football

Southampton have announced Jason Wilcox as its new director of football following his resignation from Manchester City.

Wilcox will start work for the Saints in the summer after serving his notice period with the Premier League champions.

The 51-year-old resigned from his position as Manchester City's Academy Director on January 10, with the intent to take on the job at St. Mary's.

Wilcox will be responsible for the first-team, academy, women's and girls' set ups, alongside player recruitment. He will report directly to Saints CEO Martin Semmens.

Southampton chairman Henrik Kraft expressed his joy at the crucial new signing.

'We are so pleased to announce Jason as the new Director of Football at Southampton,' Kraft said in a statement.

'His strong track record, not only as a player, but also as a senior football executive makes him the ideal candidate to lead our football department going forwards.

'At City he has helped develop some fantastic young players and delivered a pathway for them to be able to comfortably adapt into a competitive first team environment.'

Southampton, who lost former director of football operations Matt Crocker last month, have identified the 51-year-old as the man they want to oversee a shake-up.

Wilcox, a Premier League winner with Blackburn, has built up an outstanding reputation as City's academy director.

The former Rovers winger oversaw the development of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis within City’s youth set up - all of whom are now integrated in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Some will see the move as a gamble, given Southampton are bottom of the Premier League and by no means certain of top-flight status by the summer amidst  wretched run of form under new manager Nathan Jones. Though, the opportunity to work within a senior environment appeals to Wilcox.