Manchester United have named Jason Wilcox as their new sporting director, following the news that Sir Dave Brailsford will be reducing his responsibilities. The club had been without a sporting director since the sudden exit of Dan Ashworth in November.

The Red Devils had pursued the former Newcastle chief for six months before co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe axed him after a mere five months, citing a lack of 'chemistry'. This decision cost the club a hefty £4million in compensation, a significant blow considering the hundreds of redundancies made this year.

Wilcox, 53, was previously lured from Southampton and took up the role of technical director two months prior to Ashworth's departure.

However, the ex-head of Manchester City's academy has now been promoted to a more senior role, having won over Ratcliffe and other high-ranking figures at Old Trafford, according to . This move aligns with Brailsford's choice to step back.

Brailsford, the former head of British cycling, is the director of sport for INEOS, Ratcliffe's petrochemical company. Since Ratcliffe acquired his initial share in the club, which now stands at 28.94 per cent, Brailsford has remained a consistent fixture.

This is one of several shifts in United's leadership during Ratcliffe's 18-month reign. In April, INEOS chief Jean-Claude Blanc resigned from his role as a director of the club.

A familiar face at both home and away matches, Brailsford played a key role in the appointments of chief executive Omar Berrada and head coach Ruben Amorim. The 61-year-old spearheaded an audit of United's football operations and oversaw the £50m revamp of their training ground, Carrington.

Brailsford even relinquished his position as team principal of INEOS Grenadiers to concentrate on the football project. However, he has been less visible in recent weeks, spending more time in Monaco, and is expected to have a reduced presence moving forward.

Despite this, Brailsford will retain his seat on United's football club board, alongside legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson and former chief executive David Gill. It's reported that Ratcliffe wants him to mentor cyclist Geraint Thomas, who is anticipated to take up a senior management role within the Grenadiers upon his retirement from cycling at the end of this season.

This shift will also allow Brailsford to devote more attention to INEOS' other sporting endeavours. He once held significant sway at French side Nice, but with United failing to qualify for European football, he can now re-engage closely with them.

UEFA's ownership rules had previously limited INEOS' involvement as Nice qualified for the Champions League.

Wilcox, on the other hand, is keen to bolster his burgeoning stature at Old Trafford. "Jason, for me, is a guy at the coal face," Ratcliffe expressed to earlier this year. "He ran the academy at Manchester City. Txiki Begiristain, I know, thought Jason had the best eyes in the club.

"Jason knows what's working, what's not working in terms of how Ruben's playing, his system, which players he's picking, which players we are going to buy in the future. And Jason's got views on all of those things. And when I listen to Jason speak, I get what he's saying."