Everton have pulled off what is considered to be a major coup by prising Manchester United academy director Nick Cox from Old Trafford to become their technical director in a newly-created post. But just why is he so highly-rated?
The i Paper reports that Cox’s departure is understood to be amicable, but once he was headhunted for the Everton job he was excited by the opportunity with considerable investment is planned in Everton’s academy and targeting Cox shows how serious they are.
After announcing on March 7 that director of football Kevin Thelwell would be leaving the Blues when his contract expired this summer, the Blues stated they would transition to a wider sporting leadership team. The club is now in the midst of a recruitment and player development revamp under new chief executive Angus Kinnear, who has been followed from Leeds United by transfer advisor Nick Hammond.
Last Thursday, it emerged that James Smith, who is director of scouting and recruitment at Manchester City, is returning to Everton having previously worked under David Moyes at the club between 2003-13, before following the Scot to Manchester United. When it comes to his personal football philosophy, Cox, has also been a very public face of United’s academy, regularly giving interviews and posting monthly bulletins on the club website, told Training Ground Guru’s pod in 2020: “My own personal mantra has always been that the journey is more important than the destination. I think that is widely accepted in our organisation as well – that there is a higher existence than just churning out footballers in a sterile fashion.
“We were proud to have hit that magical figure of 4,000 consecutive games with a homegrown player in the squad dating back 82 years. It’s something the fans demand, something the directors want to see, something the manager firmly believes in, and that’s wonderful. This is about more than just football though.”
Cox is widely credited with implementing the enhancements in processes and culture that have vastly improved United’s academy following an extended period of decline before his arrival. He also successfully overhauled every aspect of the academy’s provision including operations, recruitment, analysis, performance and education.
There have been 38 academy debuts in the first team on Cox’s watch, including 29 since his promotion to director of academy/becoming a member of Manchester United’s football leadership group. From 2019-2024, academy graduates played 25% of United’s first team minutes, which was the second highest in the big five European leagues behind only Bayern Munich.
Significant recruitment successes on under Cox include Alejandro Garnacho, Alvaro Fernandez, Chido Obi, Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass, Toby Collyer plus the retention of Kobbie Mainoo, while sales have generated around £100million in the last three seasons.
