Manchester United’s pursuit of Dan Ashworth has taken several sharp twists in the space of the last 48 hours as reports suggest Newcastle United will now request even more than previously reported to break his gardening leave.
Man Utd kick start new era under Ratcliffe
It’s all change at Old Trafford at the moment, with news of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% stake in the club being approved acting as one of the most positive updates in some time.
The boyhood United supporter is clearly looking to make his presence felt, as the Red Devils hopefully look to move away from the leadership of the Glazers despite their stake in the club, with big changes happening off the pitch.
Ashworth has emerged as the top target for United, with the 52-year-old excelling as Newcastle’s sporting director currently, helping mastermind some excellent signings at St James’ Park and working well alongside Eddie Howe, following a superb spell at Brighton.
The Magpies were of course keen to keep hold of one of their most prized employees, but reports revealed on Sunday that the clubs would negotiate in the coming days.
“Manchester United are prepared to push again next week in order to bring Dan Ashworth to the club,” Fabrizio Romano reported on X over the weekend. “Ashworth has already accepted, United will now insist in negotiations with Newcastle to agree on compensation.”
And the allure of working for such a global superpower clearly appeals to the 52 year-old, who informed the Magpies of his desire to leave shortly after that update, and was then immediately placed on gardening leave.
Newcastle change gardening leave demands
Reports had initially suggested United would need to spend around £20m to break the transfer guru from his leave clause so he can work on the summer transfer window, but replying to a fan question on Monday morning, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards claims PIF will actually set their starting price above that number.
It is clearly not going to be cheap for United to get their man, but considering the impact he has made at Brighton and Newcastle, Ratcliffe should be willing to break the bank for a genuine expert of his craft who may make the club ten times that figure over the course of a career at Old Trafford.
Brighton’s best profit transfers | Bought for | Sold for |
|---|---|---|
Moises Caicedo to Chelsea | £24m | £100m |
Marc Cucurella to Chelsea | £15m | £56m |
Ben White to Arsenal | Free | £51m |
Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool | £8m | £36m |
Yves Bissouma to Tottenham Hotspur | £15m | £25m |
Ashworth is arguably one of the leading sporting directors in Europe at the moment, and the difference he could make with United’s recruitment has the potential to be great, with Gary Neville tipping him to have a huge impact.
“If Dan does come in, I do think there’s a chance that the performance mentality will improve, the mentality that they do have, could run through the club quite quickly.”
Related
Jim Ratcliffe set to be forced to keep Man Utd player they don’t even want
A transfer insider has provided a key update over his future.
To have not had an expert sporting director in place at a time when rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool have excelled with one has made so little sense, and recruiting Ashworth has to be considered a priority for that reason.
