Man Utd fans think they've worked out who Jason Wilcox's first signing will be at Old Trafford

The arrival of Jason Wilcox at Manchester United could help them gain an advantage when it comes to one of their transfer targets this summer.

Earlier this month, Wilcox was appointed technical director at Old Trafford after he stepped down from his role as Southampton’s director of football.

The 53-year-old will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance, according to the club.

Wilcox, who enjoyed several coaching roles before taking on the role of Man City’s academy director in 2017, certainly has an outstanding reputation.

He helped deliver one of the most successful development programmes in football at City, recruiting and developing some of the best young talent.

And one of the players who flourished during Wilcox's time in the City academy was Tosin Adarabioyo.

The defender, now 26, captained the club at under-18 level during the 2014/15 campaign, where he also featured in the UEFA Youth League.

Wilcox, who coached Adarabioyo at under-18 level, was hugely impressed with the youngster. In fact, he called Adarabioyo into his office in to give him the captaincy.

Almost a decade on and the highly-rated defender is attracting the interest of several clubs after a superb season for Premier League side Fulham.

A report from The Manchester Evening News names Newcastle and Spurs as teams who have been linked, alongside Manchester United.

United may sign a centre-back in the summer and with Adarabioyo's contract expiring this summer, he would be a sensible piece of business amid the club's Financial Fair Play concerns.

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Wilcox, meanwhile, has already spoken to Erik ten Hag about his plans.

When asked at a recent press conference about how closely the pair will work together, Ten Hag said: "Very close. We have to form a partnership, [it's] very important. We are a little bit behind in the process so we have to catch up and it will speed up the process."

The Dutchman added: "Yes, I met him yesterday for the first time. So we talked. This week, we will not have much time but, from Monday on, we will [move] quick forward. Of course I know his profile, I know he was at Man City in the youth [department] and had a lot of experience there.

"I know he was at Southampton so I am looking forward to our partnership."