Man Utd: Journalist reveals the ‘earliest’ Ashworth will be appointed after things ‘get ugly’

Man Utd will not appoint Dan Ashworth from Newcastle until the end of this year at the “earliest”, according to Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope.

There are likely to be big changes at Old Trafford over the summer after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS completed their deal to buy 27.7 per cent of the Premier League club from the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe has already gone about making changes with Omar Berrada set to arrive later this summer as the new CEO from arch-rivals Man City, while Jason Wilcox has joined as technical director from Southampton.

And Ratcliffe’s main target for sporting director has been Newcastle’s Ashworth – who is currently on gardening leave – but Man Utd are finding it hard to agree a compensation fee with the Magpies.

It was reported earlier this week that Ashworth ‘will face arbitration to seal his exit’ from Newcastle as his move to Man Utd ‘gets ugly’.

And now Daily Mail journalist Hope claims that Man Utd could have to wait until the end of 2024 or even longer to see Ashworth arrive at Old Trafford.

Hope said on Sky Sports’ Back Pages podcast: “Omar Berrada doesn’t come in until July and Dan Ashworth, well, goodness knows when that will be. My information is it will be, if not next year, the end of this year, the earliest really.

“So yeah, not a great start [for INEOS], and you only hope these cultural changes they’re trying to implement are well received inside the building because it does raise one or two eyebrows.”

Simon Jordan recently hit out at Ashworth after the Newcastle chief ‘inadvertently’ revealed that Man Utd were attempting to tap him up.

It has been reported that he had ‘inadvertently’ sent an email to Newcastle which informed them that he had been in contact with Berrada over a move to Old Trafford. It was noted that this ‘blunder’ places him at risk of ‘breaching his contract’.

In response to this story, ex-Crystal Palace owner Jordan has hit out at “silly sod” Ashworth.

“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,’” Jordan said.

“In any industry, including the chemical industry, which Jim Ratcliffe originates from, if you have senior executives in your business that will change the direction of your business when they go to a competitor, you put a lockout clause in there. It’s a standard form.

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“Because it’s la, la land football, Jim Ratcliffe is somehow suggesting that it should be different. Newcastle United did their job and the fool of a technical director signed a contract which he now doesn’t like.

“If Newcastle said, ‘Actually, we don’t feel like paying you this month.’ ‘What do you mean you don’t feel like paying me?’ ‘We just don’t.’ ‘But I’ve got a contract, you’ve got to pay me’.

“Now you’ve got a contract which goes the other way. You’ve got a notice period you silly sod. You’ve got to stay with it or negotiate your way out and the way you’re going to negotiate you way out is not sending emails to your current employers prejudicing your existing position so they get exasperated by it. It’s behaving properly and then getting Man United to pony up the money that you’re apparently worth.”