New Delhi: Dan Ashworth has left his role as the Manchester United sporting director after only five months in the role. Ashworth joined United back on July 1st, coming from Newcastle United. However, his transition hasn’t been smooth, which has led to taking a call on his time at the club.
Ashworth’s exit was agreed upon in a meeting with chief executive Omar Berrada at Old Trafford after United’s loss in the Premier League to Nottingham Forest. Sir Jim Ratcliffe was crucial in taking the big call with the move coming as shock in light of Ashworth’s effort to give the club a new direction.
According to certain sources, there are multiple reasons that United have triggered the separation. The club has said that the final agreement to end Ashworth’s contract was mutual. Under the new management, with Sir Dave Brailsford leading the operation, Ashworth was recruited as the overall in charge of football performance recruitment and operations, with Jason Wilcox, another new arrival, reporting as technical director.
🚨🔴 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 | Dan Ashworth has LEFT Manchester United after just 5 months as the sporting director, reports @TheAthleticFC. 👋 pic.twitter.com/Wb0p98CweG
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 8, 2024
Along with other executives, he was crucial in the decision to retain Erik ten Hag as manager in June, with Ashworth quoted for the official announcement about the Dutchman’s extension at the club. Apart from this, Ashworth was involved in the heavy recruitment spending in the summer, bringing in the likes of Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, and Noussair Mazraoui with the spending being quoted at £200 million.
He was also one of the key figures in Ten Hag’s dismissal in October, but Ruben Amorim’s appointment had less to do with him as Berrada was the primary reason for the Portuguese manager’s recruitment. Ratcliffe had been all praises of Ashworth, noting that the latter was one of the finest “sporting directors in the world”. Further, he noted that Ashworth was interested in taking on the challenge in one of the biggest clubs in the world, where he had the job of rebuilding the structure.
Now United have a big job of filling the big gap from Ashworth’s departure, with the reality of reshaping proving to be a big task. Ashworth had come to the club after prolonged negotiations with the 53-year-old, already having informed Newcastle of wanting to join the Red Devils in February. There was a period where Ashowrth had almost dragged his former club to court before a settlement was reached.
Newcastle had initially wanted a sum of £20m as compensation from Manchester United, though the latter was never interested in paying such a huge sum for Ashowrth. Ultimately, the end fee was between £2m and £3m. Ashworth has vast experience working with football bodies, including as technical director at Brighton and Hove Albion and the Football Association. He has been credited for playing a crucial role during his stint with FA, bringing World Cup glories at U17 and U20 level in 2017.
Dan Ashworth has stepped down from his role as Sporting Director at Manchester United after mutual agreement between the two parties. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
