Man Utd hit stumbling block in pursuit of sporting director Dan Ashworth

Newcastle won’t let Dan Ashworth join Man Utd until they are sufficiently compensated (Photo: Getty)

Manchester United may be forced to wait a while before they can hire Dan Ashworth, with a compensation deal with Newcastle United reportedly still far off.

Shortly after becoming United minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe earmarked Newcastle chief Ashworth to become the club’s first ever sporting director.

The highly-rated 52-year-old has agreed a deal to move to Old Trafford but the two clubs are yet to agree on a compensation package, with the furious Magpies placing him on gardening leave.

It was reported that Newcastle wanted a staggering £20million – £15m up front and the rest in add-ons – and they are not wavering on that figure.

The Telegraph now claim that the Red Devils have proposed a compensation package worth only around £2m and with talks struggling to progress the chances of Ashworth moving before the summer are very slim.

Ashworth’s gardening leave is due to expire at the end of 2025 and United are now prepared to wait until the end of the year to get him rather than paying what they consider to be an excessive fee.

With finances expected to be tight this summer, the club feel that the extra £13m plus needed to hire Ashworth straight away would be of better use in the transfer market.

Man Utd have appointed Jason Wilcox as Technical Director (Photo: Getty)

As a result, recently appointed technical director Jason Wilcox will take the lead on player recruitment and, until Ashworth arrives, he will be assisted by new chief executive Omar Berrada.

Ratcliffe himself has been vocally critical of Newcastle’s handling of the matter, describing their compensation demands as: ‘A bit silly.

‘What I do think is completely absurd is suggesting a man who is really good at his job sits in his garden for one and a half years.

‘We had a very grown up conversation with [Manchester] City about Omar Berrada. When things got done we sorted it out very amicably. They could see why he wanted to take that challenge.

‘You look at Pep [Guardiola] and when he’s done with one of his footballers he doesn’t want them to sit in the garden for one and a half years. He doesn’t do that. That’s not the way the UK works or the law works.’

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