Dan Ashworth's move from Newcastle United to Manchester United was protracted, but the higher-ups at Old Trafford felt the wait would be worthwhile.
The sporting director had made a name for himself with an excellent track record at Brighton and Hove Albion, after which he made the leap to the north east. Manchester United owners Ineos pursued Ashworth this time last year but had to wait until the summer with Newcastle unwilling to let him go until the end of the season.
But Ashworth ultimately ended up waiting longer to take up his post at Old Trafford than he actually spent in the job - and the club's latest financial numbers show just how costly a waste of time the whole endeavour was.
Manchester United paid
That cost can be measured in cold hard cash. Quite aside from the time United have wasted as they attempt to assemble a new boardroom and backroom staff that can help them get back on their feet after a decade of underachievement.
Unlike most clubs, who publish their accounts annually, Manchester United have to report their financials every three months because of their status as a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Their latest numbers spell out the cost of the failed Ashworth experiment as well as waving goodbye to Erik ten Hag.
United's quarterly accounts read: “Exceptional items for the quarter were a cost of £14.5 million. This relates to costs associated with the departure of former men’s first team manager Erik ten Hag and various members of football staff.”
That breaks down into £4.1m to hire and then fire Ashworth, and £10.4m on getting ten Hag and his coaching staff out of the door... just a few months after deciding to hand the Dutchman a new deal.
Ashworth's departure was confirmed in December, just a few weeks after Ruben Amorim was appointed as Ten Hag's replacement.
That departure came because Ashworth was reportedly not enamoured of the Portuguese, suggesting several alternative candidates to a frosty reception from the rest of club's decision makers.
United seemingly felt that they were not on the same page with Ashworth and moved quickly to dismiss him quickly.
The club have continued to struggle under Amorim and now sit 15th in the Premier League table, three points closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top four.
