Manchester United are trying to build the ultimate team, not put together a Harlem Globetrotters-type collection of showy individuals, director of football Jason Wilcox has declared.
The most famous example of that kind of recruitment strategy in football saw Real Madrid sign Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário and David Beckham in four successive summers from 2000 to 2003, known as the Galácticos era. Six years later, Los Blancos embarked upon Galácticos 2.0 by breaking the transfer world record twice in one summer to sign Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo.
More recently, Paris Saint-Germain assembled a forward line of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi that was mind-blowing on paper but underwhelmed on the pitch. It was only after all three superstars had left, and a new focus on the collective was implemented by manager Luis Enrique, that PSG finally delivered in the Champions League for the first time.
Manchester United have failed in the past to get the best out of superstar signings like Ángel Di María, Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho, with Wilcox now explaining that assessing a transfer target’s mindset and character—knowing if they are going to be a good fit—is driving recruitment.
“The most important thing is that, whenever we bring in a player, they have to want to improve and they have to be a team player, and understand what it means to be part of a successful team,” Wilcox, who is now leading sporting operations, told the club’s Inside Carrington podcast.
“It is not about putting the Harlem Globetrotters together. If I look at successful Man Utd teams, there were very functional players that would die for the badge and there were some mavericks. When you hear anybody talk about [Eric] Cantona, he was an ultimate professional.”
Wilcox also noted that it is a “good sign” to see players arriving at Carrington an hour or more before they are expected to report, highlighting the culture that is developing.
“What we have got to try to do is, whether we are winning or losing, we can’t have the pendulum shifting so much where it affects the mood in Carrington. If anyone comes into Carrington, actually, the first thing they say when they go away is ‘it’s nothing like it appears from the outside.’”
2025 Summer Transfer Window ‘Calmer’ Than 2024
Wilcox, initially hired as technical director, assumed his current role at the start of the summer, six months after predecessor Dan Ashworth suddenly vacated the position last December.
By his own admission, the summer transfer window going into 2024–25, when Erik ten Hag was still in place as manager and more than £200 million ($260.8 million) was spent on Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte, was “a lot more chaotic” than 2025.
In the latter, the club committed around £228 million on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško and Senne Lammens, all have whom impressed so far. Low risk was a factor.
“With this one [in summer 2025], we knew the plan, we knew which players we were going to target, we had our lists, we knew which areas of the pitch we needed to improve,” Wilcox explained.
Gary Neville is far from impressed with Benjamin Sesko's start to life at Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/WyGudc9RQd
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“It is really important then that we do the background checks on whether they are clean-living professionals. This is really important. This year, we looked at Premier League-ready players and certainly with Bryan and Matheus, we couldn’t take too much risk in this area. We needed players that we could plug in and play, with little transition time.”
Wilcox noted that Lammens had been recommended by ex-United goalkeeper Tony Coton a full year before he arrived, stressing that, despite the deal emerging very suddenly, it wasn’t a knee-jerk signing. Wilcox described the Belgian as “very reflective and very professional,” again ticking the box.
Šeško was praised for his willingness to run during games for the benefit and betterment of others over himself, and is another considered by Wilcox to be a “top professional.”
As United seek to move towards making ‘Project 150’ a reality, the cub’s target of winning the Premier League title by 2027–28 to coincide with their 150th anniversary, planning for next summer’s transfer window is already taking place. Wilcox is regularly meeting with Ruben Amorim to understand the profile of player required, alongside director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, who then briefs the scouting team, with additional input from the data team as well.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Harlem Globetrotters’—Man Utd Chief Reveals Firm Transfer Strategy.
