Former Man Utd sporting director Dan Ashworth wanted to appoint a Premier League boss over Ruben Amorim before his sacking, according to reports.
The Red Devils took months to get Ashworth out of Newcastle after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS identified him as the man they wanted to become their new sporting director over the summer.
A report in the Daily Mail in December noted that Ashworth ‘lacked conviction’ over signings and that the former Brighton sporting director ‘delegated too often’.
‘It is claimed that Ashworth lacked conviction on who the club should target in the event of [Erik] Ten Hag leaving, though he is understood to have tentatively recommended a move for former Chelsea boss Graham Potter and Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. Ruben Amorim was eventually recruited from Sporting Lisbon following Ten Hag’s sacking.
‘I have also been told that there was a feeling that Ashworth delegated too often, though others insist that was part of his plan to promote a culture of inclusivity, in a position in which he was expected to steer the strategic and operational and direction of the club.’
Erik ten Hag was sacked while Ashworth was still at Old Trafford with Man Utd deciding to appoint Amorim to replace the Dutchman in December.
Amorim has not been able to turn around results and performances since arriving at Old Trafford with the Portuguese head coach winning just four of his first 14 Premier League matches.
Man Utd are currently 15th in the Premier League table after losing 1-0 to Tottenham over the weekend and things look unlikely to get better until the summer when Amorim can get some of his own players in the door.
And now The Sun has claimed that Ashworth advised the Man Utd hierarchy to hire Brentford manager Thomas Frank instead of Amorim but his recommendation fell on deaf ears.
The report wrote:
‘Amorim’s appointment seemed like a massive coup. He was the hottest young property in management after an excellent spell at Sporting Lisbon.
‘And yet it is increasingly intriguing to consider why Dan Ashworth — United’s hugely-respected, short-lived sporting director — should have left after just five months having disagreed over Amorim’s appointment.
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‘Ashworth is believed to have favoured replacing Erik ten Hag with a manager experienced in the English game.
‘His three previous appointments — Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Gareth Southgate at England and Graham Potter at Brighton — were all great successes and all three were linked with United.
‘By the time Ten Hag was sacked, Brentford’s Thomas Frank was Ashworth’s pick, with Amorim the choice of chief executive Omar Berrada — the finance man, rather than their football man.
‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spent £25million in hiring and firing Ashworth, sacking Ten Hag and poaching Amorim with some of this cost being recouped in demoralising mass redundancies among the club’s staff.’
