Man Utd discover huge compensation fee they must pay to sign Dan Ashworth from Newcastle

Manchester United have been heavily linked with Newcastle chief Dan Ashworth, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe looking to revamp the club’s football operations.

Both the Premier League and the Football Association have now approved Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the club, with the deal seeing the Ineos chief take control of the sporting side of the business.

Ratcliffe’s right hand man Sir Dave Brailsford has already been conducting an audit on the club, while Omar Berrada has been poached from the City Football Group to become United’s new CEO following the departure of Richard Arnold.

Now, United are said to be targeting Ashworth, who previously held roles with Brighton, the FA and West Brom before joining Newcastle in 2022, as they search for a new sporting director to replace John Murtough.

According to the Newcastle Chronicle, United would have to fork out a seven-figure compensation fee in order to poach the 52-year-old. The report adds that Ashworth would also have to go on gardening leave if he does decide to move on from Newcastle.

He has previously been quizzed on the links to United, having responded to comments from Red Devils legend Gary Neville lauding his suitability for the sporting director role at Old Trafford. “He’s written some very kind things and thank you Gary,” he said.

“(My future is) same situation as Eddie, I think. I’m really happy, it’s a brilliant city, club and project. I’m thoroughly engaged in throwing myself into all of those things and really enjoying the challenge.”

Sir Dave Brailsford in front of a ‘Team INEOS’ backdrop

However, Ashworth is close with Brailsford after working alongside him during his time with the FA, with the former head of British cycling drafted in to speak to the Newcastle squad in pre-season in 2022 as a result of his relationship with Ashworth.

“I’ve known Sir Dave for a number of years, working across various different sports and he is without doubt the best in world sport at creating high-performance culture and turning that into winning,” Ashworth said at the time. “There were some brilliant messages for us all and it was great to get him in at this point of pre-season.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, added: “I have been aware of Sir Dave’s approach and his incredible achievements at the very elite level of sport for a long time and I was delighted to finally meet him. He has overseen so much success in specific disciplines, but his principles are transferable to any competitive sporting environment.”

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