Manchester United have reportedly ‘begun the process’ of potentially replacing Dan Ashworth after the sporting director left the club earlier this month.
At the start of this year, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his takeover of Man Utd. He only purchased a minority stake but has taken control of footballing matters at Old Trafford.
One of Ratcliffe‘s priorities post-takeover was to overhaul Man Utd’s recruitment model as he attempted to recruit the best in class in various departments. He recruited sporting director Ashworth, chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox.
Man Utd had to buy Ashworth out of his Newcastle United contract and they agreed on a compensation package worth around £3m after he was on gardening leave for around five months.
Ashworth joined Man Utd in the summer, but the 53-year-old left the Premier League giants at the start of this month following a dispute with Ratcliffe and Co.
READ: Man Utd ‘going down’ and Ruben Amorim could be sacked before summer
A subsequent report from The Sun claimed Man Utd have ‘ditched’ the sporting director role as they have decided against replacing Ashworth.
‘Red Devils part-owner Ratcliffe decided that his Ineos right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, United chief exec Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will share the responsibilities of the position.
‘Ashworth, 53, was forced out of Old Trafford after losing a power battle with ex-City executive Berrada. The pair had a huge fall-out over how the club should move forward in a bid to get back to the top of English football.’
Despite this, a fresh report from The Daily Mail claims Berrada has ‘begun the process’ of determining whether to replace Ashworth.
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The report explains:
‘Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has begun the process of determining whether the club will replace Dan Ashworth.
‘Sporting director Ashworth left Old Trafford earlier this month, just five months after his arduous arrival from Newcastle was confirmed.
‘Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will take on the bulk of Ashworth’s responsibilities while a decision is made over whether to replace the respected executive.
‘And Mail Sport has learned that Berrada has started to consider the remit of any new executive appointment given the club are not expected to go for another sporting director.’
READ: Former Man Utd winger slams Amorim, names alternative manager INEOS should’ve appointed
Former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown has slammed Ratcliffe and INEOS as they have “been appalling”, while the takeover has been a “PR disaster”.
“I’ve been staggered and amazed at the attitude of INEOS,” Brown told Football Insider. “I don’t know where they learnt their staff management skills, but they’ve been appalling.
“First of all, as far as I can see, they’re agents of the Glazers and the first thing they do is make sure the Glazers and themselves get their money passed to them. Never mind the club, the club has to pay for it in some way.
“They’ve gotten rid of loyal workers who have been brought up with Manchester United DNA, ethics and policies over the last 30 or 40 years. They get rid of them and bring somebody in who they can pay less wages to – that’s what it’s about.
“I know people who have been amazed by the way they were so quick to get rid of them.
“Eventually, though, the chickens will come home to roost because all they’ve done from a personnel point of view is they’ve made huge numbers of their employees unhappy.
“I think as a PR stunt, and that’s exactly what all of this is, it’s been a disaster. I have no faith in this mob whatsoever, I don’t think they understand the game, I don’t think they understand people, and they’re ripping the heart and soul out of this football club.“
