- Dan Ashworth asked to leave Newcastle due to interest from Manchester United
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to appoint Ashworth as United sporting director
- CHRIS SUTTON: I still wouldn’t make the move at Man United. everything is starting podcast
Dan Ashworth has told Newcastle that he wants to leave the club, but must wait for Manchester United to resolve his contract.
Mail Sport understands that the gardening leave period listed in the sporting director’s current contract is close to two years.
That means Man United will have to negotiate a significant compensation fee to release him early or honor the terms of his contract and wait for his gardening leave to expire.
But Ashworth’s time at St James’ Park is nearing an end and, as Mail Sport reported last week, events are expected to come to a head in the coming days.
The 52-year-old’s position felt almost untenable after Eddie Howe’s pre-match press conference on Friday, in which he raised concerns about Ashworth’s access to the club’s inner workings ahead of a possible defection to their rivals. .
Dan Ashworth asked to leave Newcastle due to interest from Manchester United
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to appoint the highly-rated Ashworth as United’s sporting director, but the clubs must agree a significant compensation fee.
Howe then said it was up to “someone above me” to answer whether Ashworth should be asked to leave the building immediately. The inference was that the head coach wanted the situation resolved imminently.
Ashworth remained over the weekend, attending scouting meetings and Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth.
However, he informed the club of his desire to leave on Sunday, just 20 months after joining from Brighton. He will now be tasked with leading the restructuring of football operations at Old Trafford under the new co-ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group. His main responsibility will be recruiting. When he takes on that role will depend on the outcome of talks with Newcastle this week.
The news about Ashworth will be frustrating for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe.
Ashworth previously received much praise for the work he did in the England set-up.
While at Brighton, Ashworth worked as manager while further enhancing his reputation.
