Man Utd appoint Dan Ashworth after deal agreed to hire Newcastle sporting director
Newcastle placed sporting director Dan Ashworth on gardening leave in February after he revealed his desire to join Manchester United; Sir Jim Ratcliffe has overseen an overhaul of Man Utd’s hierarchy since taking over earlier this year
Manchester United have appointed Dan Ashworth as sporting director.
The 53-year-old commences his new role at Old Trafford with immediate effect.
A joint statement from the two clubs read: “Newcastle United and Manchester United have reached an agreement for the immediate release of Dan Ashworth from his contractual obligations at Newcastle United.
“The terms of this agreement remain confidential between the clubs. Newcastle United thanks Dan for his services and wishes him well for the future.”
Newcastle initially were demanding £20m compensation for the former FA Technical Director, with Manchester United looking to pay a fraction of that, but a compromise was reached in the last few days.
- Transfer Centre LIVE! | Premier League ins and outs
- Man Utd’s Premier League fixtures
- Stream Sky Sports with NOW | Get Sky Sports
The deal also helped Newcastle comply with Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) this month. Ashworth had been on gardening leave at Newcastle since February.
The hiring of Ashworth is the latest hierarchical hire done by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the new INEOS minority investors since they took over the club.
Image: Ashworth joins Omar Berrada (right) in Manchester United's new hierarchical structure
Omar Berrada joined from Manchester City as United’s new chief executive, while Jason Wilcox arrived as new academy director from Southampton.
Why did Man Utd go for Dan Ashworth?
Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy:
“It’s unsurprising that Manchester United have chosen him to take over at as sporting director under INEOS who are looking to reshape their football operations at the club.
“Ashworth’s pedigree and esteem are well-known in the game. He is widely regarded as one of the best operators in Europe and actually the best in England given his body of work.
“You stretch back to his time at West Brom. There he delivered two promotions and a top-half Premier League finish. His work was so promising that he got poached by the England FA.
“There for the national team, he introduced an element that is seen as one of the key factors of their continued success, even now, and that’s the England DNA. A defined way of playing across all age groups.
“We saw the impact of that at the 2018 World Cup and after that tournament, Ashworth left the FA and was poached by Brighton, who wanted him to be in charge of remodelling them and securing their status as a Premier League club.
“He did more than that – he helped them become one of the best-run clubs in the world. Their recruitment model is the envy of clubs the world over.
“That attracted the PIF-powered Newcastle. Even though they have spent a lot, they have spent quite smartly under his watch and he has modernised a lot of their operations.”
When does the summer transfer window open and close?
The 2024 summer transfer window in the Premier League and Scottish Premiership is officially open.
The window will close on August 30 at 11pm UK time in England and at 11.30pm in Scotland.
The Premier League and Scottish Premiership brought forward Deadline Day to link up with the other major leagues in Europe. The closing dates were set following discussions with the leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
Sourse: skysports.com