Manchester United's pursuit of Jason Wilcox has infuriated his current club Southampton.
After retiring from a playing career that saw him feature for Blackburn, Leeds and Leicester, Wilcox moved into coaching at Manchester City. He spent five years as academy director for the Premier League giants.
He was then appointed director of football by Southampton, joining the Championship side in the summer after their relegation from the top-flight. He has helped the Saints to become promotion candidates as they look to make an immediate return to the Premier League.
That work has seen him become a wanted man though, with United now launching a push to tempt him away from St Mary's. The news of their interest broke on Monday evening, just before their huge clash with promotion rivals Ipswich Town.
According to Sky Sports, United have offered the equivalent to a year of his salary as compensation. The Red Devils are said to believe this meets a buyout clause in the executive's contract.
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But Southampton are insisting that such a clause does not exist. The Saints are reported to be 'annoyed' at the manner and timing of United's approach, given the news emerged ahead of such a pivotal game in their season.
The Championship side have also been 'angered' that Wilcox has been unsettled with just eight games of the season to go. They value him at substantially more than United's offer, despite him only having been at the club for nine months.
Southampton are thought prepared to agree a fee with United, but there appears to be an impasse. Boss Russell Martin was asked about Wilcox's future after his side's stoppage time defeat, though he was keen to move on from the topic.
Southampton boss Russell Martin was keen to move off the topic of Wilcox's future after the defeat to Ipswich (Robin Jones/Getty Images)"I've been hearing from the media that Jason's leaving for six weeks. Nothing's changed. I spoke to Jason this morning, we've had a game, I'm here to talk about the game, not about Jason," he told Sky Sports.
"I'm sure a some point, hopefully in a couple of days, he'll be able to tell you or I'll be able to tell you what's going on. But right now, we've just lost 3-2 in a game where we were fantastic and I don't really want to be talking about Jason.
"Jason's been great for us, if he leaves, he leaves. I don't know what's going on. I would say give me at least 10 minutes to get over the disappointment of tonight and we'll chat at some point this week and I'm sure I'll have more for you.
"I've not spoken to the club (about it). You know my feelings on Jason, and I'll have a chat with him after. I've just had a text saying how proud he was of the performance. The rest is, once I'm told I'll let you know."
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