Dan Ashworth is to leave his role as Manchester United’s director of sports after five months.
The Ashworth club supplied much ambition and funding from Newcastle but reached a mutual agreement on their part. Talks were held between Ashworth and chief executive, Omar Berrada, after the defeat to Nottingham Forest which left them 13th in the league, before Jim Ratcliffe signed on for his exit.
“Dan Ashworth will leave his role as Manchester United’s sporting director by mutual agreement,” read a club statement. “We would like to thank Dan for his hard work and support through the transition for the club and we wish him well for the future.”
Ashworth was a key target for the new regime under minority owner Ratcliffe and Newcastle paid a seven-figure fee to secure his services. The former Football Association technical director was given the go-ahead to complete and recruit at United but saw through just one transfer window where a number of £200m signings were spent, including Josue Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel. Be careful.
The 53-year-old reached huge expectations after his work at Brighton, the FA and Newcastle, but the United States found himself struggling to replicate his success.
Ashworth had reservations about switching to new head coach Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, as he wanted a consistent style, regardless of who was in the dugout, to help with his long-term recruiting plans.
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