According to reports, it’s been ‘privately pointed out’ that Dan Ashworth could join Arsenal after leaving Premier League giants Manchester United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe targeted Ashworth following his takeover of Man Utd at the start of this year and paid around £3m in compensation to make Newcastle United sanction his exit.
Ratcliffe’s priority after purchasing a minority stake in Man Utd was to overhaul their recruitment model as he wanted the best in class in various roles.
Ashworth was previously lauded for his work at Brighton and was made Man Utd’s sporting director. He’s been working alongside chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox.
With 53-year-old Ashworth just five months into his spell at Man Utd, the announcement of his immediate departure on Sunday morning was a huge shock.
READ: Manchester United have backed Ruben Amorim at Dan Ashworth’s expense – now it better pay off
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 this, it’s been reported by The Athletic that INEOS ‘instigated the separation’.
‘Multiple sources, speaking anonymously like others in this story to protect relationships, say United instigated the separation. The club say the final agreement to end Ashworth’s contract was mutual.’
It remains to be seen whether Ashworth will pursue an immediate return to football or take an extended break, but The Athletic are also reporting that he’s ‘expected to have no shortage of offers’.
It is also noted that he could be targeted by Arsenal. They are pursuing a replacement for Edu, who has left to work under Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
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The report claims:
‘The 53-year-old is expected to have no shortage of offers.
‘Several people in the game are privately pointing out how Arsenal are searching for a new sporting director and their managing director is Richard Garlick, a close colleague of Ashworth’s from their West Bromwich Albion days, although there are no indications of anything substantive at this stage.’
The report from The Athletic also revealed that there were ‘raised eyebrows’ after Ashworth ‘took a holiday on Ruben Amorim’s second day at Carrington’, while there was also ‘friction apparent’ over another incident.
‘Ratcliffe felt Ashworth should have been much more assertive in targeting a new head coach and should have looked beyond those people he already knew.
‘He was also said to have raised eyebrows at Ashworth taking a holiday on Amorim’s second day at Carrington. There were mitigating circumstances, with Ashworth marking a significant family event having postponed previous attempts for work reasons.
‘His absence, around the same time, from November’s executive committee (ExCo) meeting was however seen by some as a further indication all was not well. Ashworth had attended the ExCo summit in October at INEOS headquarters in London, as well as the previous one in Barcelona.
‘Friction was also apparent when Ashworth proposed bringing in a data company to evaluate the candidates to replace Ten Hag. Ratcliffe was said to have reacted badly, countering that it was Ashworth’s job to know such matters rather than outsource, while also making him question United’s in-house capabilities.’
