Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox considered a shock name to replace Erik ten Hag in 2024, according to a trusted source, and it would have been a disaster.

Then Man Utd boss Ten Hag was under significant pressure after the 2023-24 campaign, despite the FA Cup final triumph over rivals Manchester City. The Red Devils had endured a dismal Premier League campaign, dropping from third place the previous season to just eighth spot.

United held talks with Thomas Tuchel as they weighed up whether to stick with Ten Hag or head in a new direction.

Tuchel ultimately ruled himself out of the running, and United subsequently triggered an extension in Ten Hag’s contract, from 2025 to 2026.

But the Dutchman was sacked in October 2024 after United won only three of their opening nine league fixtures, leaving them 14th in the table.

The Athletic have now taken an in-depth look at Wilcox as he is ‘under intense scrutiny’ at Old Trafford.

They reveal that before the 2024 FA Cup final, when pressure on Ten Hag was at its highest, Wilcox and other United officials put forward potential candidates to replace the 56-year-old.

Wilcox ‘spoke highly’ of Russell Martin, having appointed the 40-year-old at Southampton the previous summer, when he worked as their director of football.

Wilcox understood that Martin was too inexperienced to get the backing of other United chiefs at the time, but he felt the club should ‘keep an eye’ on the coach’s development.

Martin would have been an awful appointment by Wilcox and United. Martin got Southampton promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2023-24 but was sacked in December the following season after just one win in 16 games.

The former defender ambitiously tried to instil a possession-based style at Southampton in the top flight, which ended up costing them dearly.

Martin then took charge of Rangers but proved to be one of the worst managers in their history, lasting just 123 days.

Martin is currently Leicester City boss, and he has been tasked with securing them immediate promotion out of League One.

But the Foxes had a terrible start under Martin, and they are still just 10th in the table.

The Athletic add that there is also concern over Wilcox’s data analysis, organisation and leadership skills, which will all be worrying for United fans.

The 55-year-old looks set to have the final say over Michael Carrick’s potential replacement, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to listen to him.

Jason Wilcox has made several Man Utd blunders

Wilcox has made Eddie Howe his No 1 target, ahead of other candidates such as Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte.

But United supporters may be seriously concerned about Howe’s appointment given Wilcox’s work at Old Trafford so far.

We have not even mentioned Ruben Amorim yet. United paid Sporting CP over £10m for Amorim, despite the fact he had a completely different tactical system to Ten Hag.

Amorim oversaw a historically bad spell for United, even calling his team the worst side in the club’s history at one stage.

United backed Amorim with major spending and are still trying to revamp the squad after his sacking, as they no longer want to use wing-backs like the Portuguese did.

Despite Howe emerging as the favourite for the United job, the German media claim Nagelsmann is ‘ready’ to take over.