Manchester United could land Dan Ashworth sooner than expected, as he looks to take Newcastle United to arbitration in order to push through his proposed move to Old Trafford.
The Magpies placed their sporting director on gardening leave in February after he told the club that he wanted to be considered for the Manchester United job.
With Manchester United unwilling to meet the £20million in compensation that Newcastle are demanding and a clause in Ashworth’s Newcastle deal preventing him from taking on a new role until 2026, a standoff has ensued.
In order to break this deadlock, The Athletic are reporting that Ashworth will now be backed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Manchester United team in an arbitration process.
This would see a third-party rule on the compensation that Newcastle are to be paid and is set to start in May and last for several weeks.
The hiring of Ashworth is part of Ratcliffe’s Old Trafford masterplan as the billionaire overhauls the football operations side of the club following his investment in the Red Devils earlier this year.
Manchester City’s Omar Berrada will take over as CEO in the summer, while Jason Wilcox began the role of technical director after joining from Southampton earlier this month.
Ratcliffe was quick to praise Ashworth when he discussed the situation back in February.
“I think Dan Ashworth is clearly one of the top sporting directors in the world, I’ve no doubt,” he said Ratcliffe.
“He’s a very capable person. He’s interested in the Manchester United job because it’s probably the biggest sporting director job in the world just now, with the biggest challenge.
“We’ve obviously had words with Newcastle. They would clearly be disappointed to lose Dan. But what I do think is completely absurd is suggesting a man who is really good at his job sits in his garden for one and a half years. That’s completely stupid.”
Newcastle hired Ashworth in February 2022 after the 53-year-old’s reputation grew during stints with West Bromwich Albion, the English FA and at Brighton & Hove Albion.
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