The winds of change at Old Trafford that began with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos’ arrival at Manchester United swept up a lot of personnel with it.
It also brought about many new faces, with the likes of Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox headlining a new executive structure at the club.
Both those hires were completed through a fairly smooth process but the same cannot be said for the third hire, that of Dan Ashworth.
Newcastle played hardball over their Director of Football and disagreements over the compensation figure made it so that the matter was set to go into arbitration. Last night it was claimed an agreement was close.
Now, the latest developments look like United will finally have their full structure in place for a crucial summer window.
Deal agreed for Dan Ashworth
David Ornstein of The Athletic reports that Man United have finally agreed a deal to bring Dan Ashworth out of his gardening leave.
An agreement on compensation figure has been reached with Newcastle and Ashworth is set to begin at Old Trafford with immediate effect.
He will come in as the Director of Football, being responsible for the holistic working at the club related to on-pitch matters like recruitment, football performance, and operations.
The former Brighton executive has long been a highly-rated name in football circles and his closeness with Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe made him a natural target.
He joined Newcastle just over two years ago in a similar role and was expected to lead their football operations under the new owners.
However, United turned his head with the Ineos regime taking over and after first registering their interest in him, a battle of wills had been going on between the clubs.
Ashworth starting immediately for the transfer window is a huge boost to the club’s planning as it was widely expected that Newcastle would hold out for this summer at least to avoid giving United a leg up for a crucial window.
Ashworth completed INEOS’ dream executive structure
It is well-known that Ineos were not happy with the executive structure at United.
Their arrival was preceded by the leaving of Richard Arnold and a clear emphasis was on hiring accomplished football people for crucial roles.
Omar Berrada’s appointment as CEO from Manchester City was a statement of intent by Ineos as they shook things up at Old Trafford.
Jason Wilcox followed him as the Technical Director and he has already started working behind the scenes, taking the role previously held by Darren Fletcher.
However, Dan Ashworth’s role was arguably more high-profile so filling it in earnest was United’s big priority.
Newcastle weren’t playing ball but with June 30 coming and going, and the implications of Profit and Sustainability Rules in the background, United might have finally managed to get a good deal.
Ashworth has been credited with creating a high-performance and results-oriented environment at all the clubs he has been at, something which is desperately needed at Old Trafford.
The hope will be that with him in position now, United can look towards settling on a direction on the pitch as well as major off-pitch recruitments are now set in stone.