Man United Exclusive: What Dan Ashworth told scouts before shock exit
Dan Ashworth told scouts while at Newcastle that he never plans to stay at a club for longer than three years, sources have told Football Insider.
This comes in the wake of his shock exit from Man United just five months after the club paid £3million to bring him in from St James’ Park.
The sporting director’s exit came as a shock, but an official statement from Man United on 8 December confirmed his departure “by mutual agreement”.
However, sources at United revealed that there had been concerns behind the scenes about how long he would commit to the club for as a result of his previous comments.
After leaving the FA in 2018, Ashworth became Brighton’s technical director in 2019, then left the position to join Newcastle in 2022, and later moved to United in July 2024.
It was during his time at Newcastle when concerns initially emerged amongst staff about his commitment, and those concerns were shared with colleagues at United.
Dan Ashworth leaves Man United amid INEOS controversy
Upon his arrival at Old Trafford in July, Sir Jim Ratcliffe described Ashworth as “one of the best sporting directors in the world”.
Now, his exit has raised questions about the structure and decision-making of United’s controlling owners INEOS amid a series of questionable decision from the top.
A mass cost-cutting exercise saw 250 United employees let go upon their arrival, leading to growing frustration aimed at the ownership.
Following that, it was announced that Sir Alex Ferguson’s multi-million pound ambassadorial commitment had been cancelled, stirring further questions.
More recently, Football Insider exclusively revealed on 4 December that the owners were forced to backtrack on a decision to revoke privileges given to families of the Busby Babes.
Ashworth’s exit under a cloud of controversy comes as the latest questionable decision under INEOS’ ownership, although many had expressed doubts about the sporting director’s position.
In other news, a big update has emerged about Harry Maguire’s future.
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