Ashworth departure blamed on two Man Utd transfer gaffes with three possible replacements named
Dan Ashworth may have cost himself his job at Man Utd with the decision to sign two players in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils announced Ashworth’s departure as sporting director on Sunday in a short statement on their official website after a morning of speculation.
A statement read: “Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as sporting director of Manchester United by mutual agreement. We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.”
Despite the statement suggesting otherwise, The Athletic insisted that ‘multiple sources, speaking anonymously like others in this story to protect relationships, say United instigated the separation.’
Man Utd have made a terrible start to the new Premier League season and haven’t been helped by the Red Devils spending around £180m on five new signings in the summer.
Josh Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui all arrived at Old Trafford but Man Utd are currently 13th in the Premier League table.
And a report in ESPN has hinted that the early signings he was responsible for could have cost him his job at Old Trafford with the arrivals of De Ligt and Zirkzee not looking like wise buys.
‘Sources told ESPN that aside from Matthijs de Ligt, the Netherlands international centre-back signed from Bayern Munich in a combined £50.5m deal with Mazraoui, every summer signing was driven by the recruitment department headed up by Ashworth.
‘Ten Hag wanted De Ligt and, despite believing the squad was already well stocked with centre-backs, Ashworth sanctioned the move in order to show faith in the manager following his retention in the role weeks earlier.
‘Sources added that the decision to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee, a £36m signing from Bologna, was driven by Ashworth’s team based on data analytics, and the Netherlands forward has so far looked out of his depth in the United team, scoring just three goals in 21 appearances.
‘Defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte (£42.2m from PSG) has had a disrupted start at United and has yet to secure a regular place in the team, while centre-back Leny Yoro (£52m from Lille) only made his debut in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal after suffering a foot injury during preseason.’
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Man Utd will now begin the task of replacing Ashworth at Old Trafford with talkSPORT claiming that technical director Jason Wilcox could be promoted as the Red Devils might ‘choose an internal candidate in an effort to save money’.
They also link Crystal Palace director of football Dougie Freedman and Paris Saint-Germain football advisor Luis Campos as other possible candidates.
And former CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs reckons the next appointment could come from within Old Trafford, he wrote on X: “Manchester United have been building a new team and structure at super speed, and there is an acknowledgement there will be an element of learning and adapting on the job to create a winning structure.
“Manchester United confident in their plans for 2025. Jason Wilcox and likely Chris Vivell may take enhanced roles. Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc are involved in recruitment. And Omar Berrada remains a key voice in football and business decisions. He drove Ruben Amorim’s appointment.”
