Jason Wilcox has been appointed as Manchester City’s Academy Director on a permanent basis after looking after operations on an interim basis following the departure of Mark Allen to Rangers in the summer.
Wilcox, 46, was highly rated at City and was promoted from coaching the Under 18s to Academy Head of Coaching when Pep Guardiola took Rodolfo Borrell into the first team coaching staff.
The former Blackburn winger won the Premier League title with Rovers in 1995 and also played for Leeds United, Leicester City and Blackpool before joining the City academy coaching staff five years ago where he took the U18s to a national championship title and two FA Youth Cup finals.
Manchester City’s Jason Wilcox press release
Manchester City are delighted to announce Jason Wilcox as the Club’s new Academy Director.
Jason has been performing the role on an interim basis since June 2017 and will now permanently oversee the operations, based at the City Football Academy in East Manchester.
Wilcox, a former Premier League winner and England international, first joined the Manchester City academy coaching staff five years ago. In 2013, he was appointed head coach for the under-18s squad, and during his three-year tenure in the role led the team to a national championship title and two FA Youth Cup finals.
In the summer of 2016, Wilcox was named head of academy coaching, taking over responsibility for the football coaching strategies of all the age groups housed within the club’s academy.
Wilcox has witnessed the development of the Club’s youth football strategy during his time at the Club, and has helped oversee the relocation from the former Platt Lane base to the new home at the City Football Academy.
Talking about his new appointment, Wilcox said:
“I have really enjoyed my time at Manchester City over the last five years and I am excited to take on this new challenge at the club as Academy Director. The City Football Academy is a state of the art youth development facility, but the passion and the commitment of the staff and players will really make a difference to what we can achieve going forward.
“Our goal is to develop well-rounded, talented individuals on and off the pitch and I am relishing the opportunity to help us meet this objective day in and day out.”
City Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, added:
“Jason has been a highly valued and integral part of our academy structure for many years, and is a natural fit for the position as he shares the Club’s vision for developing young football talent.
“I am delighted that Jason has accepted this challenge, and everyone at Manchester City wishes him well as he steers our academy into the next phase of its development.”