When Eric ten Hag was sacked on October 28th and coach Ruben Amorim was announced quickly after that, it looked that circle was ‘closed‘ for Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The new minority owner of Manchester United changed the complete sports sector after he took charge of it. Dan Ashworth has arrived as the club’s first ever sporting director, while Omar Berrada (CEO) and Jason Wilcox (technical director) have also been brought in to overhaul United’s structure, with that group largely responsible for recruitment moving forward. But after just five months, Ashworth is already gone! As reported by the Athletic, United decided to part ways with a highly regarded football executive and it will be announced as a mutual decision soon.Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.#MUFC— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2024 Bad day at the office for Onana and awful corner defending kill Amorim’s UnitedSurely, a shocking decision, considering that Ashworth was not only a boyhood Manchester fan, but is also a close friend of Ratcliffe‘s right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford who is deeply involved in running the club as well. Their mutual respect and friendship was one of the key factors or luring Ashworth from Newcastle United to Manchester. The Magpies fought hard for the expensive release clause, but eventually due to PSR regulations and short of cash had to agree for a lower price (around three million pounds). Newcastle placed Ashworth on the gardening leave back in February but agreed with Manchester on July 1 so he was on ‘vacation‘ around five months, as same time as he spent in the United director‘s chair.Reckless United could get a new director in 2025?In the most recent transfer window, Erik ten Hag was backed with 200 pounds to spend before being sacked in October. Leny Yoro arrived for 52m, while Manuel Ugarte arrived for a fee close to 50m. Matthjis de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee also arrived and Ashworth was ultimately in charge of all those signings. According to The Athletic, Ashworth’s departure was agreed in a meeting with chief executive Omar Berrada at Old Trafford after United’s Premier League game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been pivotal to the call to part ways, in a move that will stun staff at United given Ashworth’s prominence in trying to reshape the club. Dan Ashworth also was in favor of appointing Gareth Southgate as the new manager but Berrada went for Amorim instead. “Dan Ashworth is clearly one of the top sporting directors in the world,” said United’s co-owner in February. “I have no doubt he is a very capable person. He is interested in Manchester United because it’s the biggest challenge at the biggest club in the world. It would be different at City because you’re maintaining a level. Here it’s a significant rebuilding job. He would be a very good addition” Ratcliffe said back in July. But he soon changed his mind.##NAJAVA_MECA_8560201##
