The former sporting director of Newcastle, Dan Ashworth faces arbitration before joining Manchester United and the situation seems to deteriorate. Transfer market expert and senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke, in the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, explained the situation. Ashworth claimed that he was rather sacked than resigned. The sporting director was allegedly on ‘Gardening leave’ by February while the two Premier League clubs were negotiating compensation. On May 9, a report by The Independent revealed that concerns over Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) were almost dictating the move to Manchester. This turned out to be a dead-lock duel between the two parties. Newcastle demand a compensation of 25 million pounds, which creates more problems than solutions. The league has hit clubs for breaching PSR rules with point deductions in the past.
Why is Ashworth’s appointment integral to United?
Manchester United “tapped up” Ashworth, claims Newcastle. They did not know of United’s interest beforehand while Dan was under the contract. Newcastle have publicly accused the Red Devils of the incident. The reason United is looking for a new sporting director of great stature is due to their rebuilding plan. Red Devils will be going through major changes in the summer transfer window. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have completed a deal to buy 27.7%. Ratcliff, having control over football operations in an agreement with the Glazers, appointed Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO. This leaves with the appointment of a new sporting director, and Ashworth seems to be fitting.
Dan Ashworth move from Newcastle to Manchester “gets ugly”
A report during the month of April in the Daily Telegraph mentioned Ashworth’s move as it was embroiled in financial play. Manchester United countered with 2 million pounds to Newcastle’s 25 million. This clearly left a complicated stance for the parties, and the agreement fell short. Now, Ashworth is taking Newcastle into arbitation to complete his swift move to the red side of Manchester. Football insider has claimed that Ashworth ‘will face arbitration to seal his exit’ from Newcastle as his move to Man Utd ‘gets ugly’.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan had his own fair say. He said,
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s thinking is, ‘We’re Manchester United and we should be able to do precisely what we want when we want and irrespective of whatever contract Dan Ashworth has agreed.”
These comments on Ratcliff are somewhat true. Ratcliff’s arrogance matches the magnitude to that of his own club. He would do anything to pull off a publicity stunt. He is ready to convince his dear fans about the assurance of finishing at the top of the table. However, even after a disastrous season and finishing 8th, observers will see Ashworth’s move as “important,” especially for the summer transfer window. United, thanks to their FA Cup win, will be playing in the Europa League, and the whole board is hell-bent on improving their squad for it with the involvement of Ashworth’s strategy.
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