Newcastle United Sporting Director has reportedly snubbed Manchester United in favour of remaining in his role on Tyneside. Daniel Wales reports on a crucial period for both clubs.
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00:00 Following successful periods as a technical director at both England and Brighton, Dan
00:07 Ashworth was snapped up by Newcastle United to become their sporting director. He has
00:13 overseen the signings of young European talents such as Sven Botman and Sandro Ternali since
00:19 he began work at St James' Park. However, since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at
00:25 Manchester United, reports have circulated that the Red Devils have been hoping to acquire
00:31 Ashworth Services as part of a club rebuild to re-establish Manchester United as one of
00:36 the world's most lucrative clubs to be a part of. On Tyneside, losing Ashworth would
00:42 be a blow to the Saudi-backed project that began in 2021. According to club director
00:49 Amanda Staveley, Newcastle United have aspirations of winning trophies including the Premier
00:55 League in coming years, bringing to an end decades of no silverware.
01:01 Given that at England, Ashworth helped to oversee the three lines transformation into
01:06 a set-up that has seen the men's first team consistently challenging at the far end of
01:11 major tournaments, as well as instilling a culture of bringing in young talent at Brighton
01:16 that eventually helped the Seagulls get into Europe for the first time, albeit after Ashworth
01:22 had departed, it is obvious why Newcastle United are desperate to hold on to their man.
01:29 And if current reports are to be believed, the Magpies have seemingly managed to do just
01:35 that, with the Independents' chief football writer, Miguel Delaney, reporting that Ashworth
01:41 has snubbed a move to Old Trafford in favour of staying on Tyneside. A move to Manchester
01:48 United would likely see Ashworth earn more money than he is currently making at Newcastle
01:54 United, but reports suggest that he is reluctant to leave his current role in which he has
02:00 significant scope to oversee operations at St James' Park.
02:06 Holding on to Ashworth would allow Newcastle to continue on the upward trajectory they
02:11 are currently on. Whilst this season has had its rocky patches for the Magpies, those within
02:16 the club predicted that given the massive success and increase in games this year, a
02:22 small drop off was a possibility. They are still within touching distance of Europe however,
02:27 and into the fourth round of the FA Cup, with the next two seasons being perhaps a bigger
02:33 priority in terms of pushing further forward as a club. For Manchester United, not attaining
02:40 Ashworth would be a blow and would mean that their search would have to go elsewhere. These
02:46 are tricky times for the Red Devils, both on and off the pitch, and this would compound
02:51 their misery even further. One thing that is certain is that both Newcastle United and
02:58 Manchester United both see Dan Ashworth as key to their success.
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