Kieran Maguire shares view on Dan Ashworth joining Man United after 'huge' Newcastle United update
Dan Ashworth has become a 'prized asset' at Newcastle United and they are right to demand millions from Man United for his signature.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the value of Ashworth as a football director.
As revealed by Football Insider last month, Ashworth is 'keen' to join the Red Devils after they made him a top target in their director search.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to overhaul the current board at Old Trafford following his takeover deal on Christmas Eve.
As reported by The Athletic, Newcastle will reportedly demand a seven-figure compensation package to allow Ashworth to leave St James' Park.
The Tyneside club paid £5million to release Ashworth from his Brighton contract following their Saudi-backed takeover.
Maguire believes a seven-figure fee is worth paying if Ashworth can salvage United's transfer model and save them millions in the transfer market.
"I think that a huge fee for a director is perfectly understandable when you look at the amount of money that's been wasted at Old Trafford," Maguire told Football Insider's Sean Fisher.
"And I think that's not being too damning of the people in charge.
"A £5million fee is an absolute bargain if you're going to reduce the number of duds that a club signs.
"It also means that those people who have proven themselves to be a safe pair of hands, to have an understanding of the broader requirements and needs of a club, as appears to be the case with Dan Ashworth at Newcastle, they become prized assets.
"Brighton negotiated hard with Newcastle because they didn't want to lose Dan Ashworth and I would imagine that Newcastle will take a similar position.
"He'll have to either go on gardening leave for a long period of time or they'll have to be substantial compensation paid to buy him out of that gardening leave period."