English Premier League club Manchester United on Thursday announced the appointment of former South African international Quinton Fortune as the assistant coach of the under-23 team.
Fortune, 42, played 126 times for Manchester United between 1999 and 2005. He won the Premier League in the 2002/03 and the FA Community Shield in 2003.
Fortune will deputize Neil Wood in a restructuring of the Under-23s coaching set-up. Former club player and Head of Academy Nicky Butt will take on increased involvement in the team’s overall programme.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Neil Wood as lead coach of our #MUAcademy Under-23s.
Neil will be assisted by former Red Quinton Fortune in the upcoming season. #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 4, 2019
The changes come following the exit of U23s coach Ricky Sbragia by mutual consent in May.
Fortune expressed his delight at returning to the club in a new role after recently completing his UEFA A Licence.
“I have a great relationship with Ole, whom I also worked with at Cardiff when I was assistant manager of their Under-21s, and I look forward to working with him again alongside Nicky and Neil. We will all work together in order to achieve the ultimate aim of producing players capable of performing in Manchester United’s first team,” Fortune said.
Fortune was assistant manager of the Cardiff City Under-21 side during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stint as first-team manager. More recently, he worked as a pundit for Manchester United TV (MUTV).
Fortune’s appointment is the latest in a series of former players taking up coaching roles at United.
