4
The revolution under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sporting control is well underway, with his people already starting work at the club.
Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir Dave Brailsford have been appointed to the board and the latter has already done the rounds at Old Trafford.
However, the club needs much more than just executive change and changes below that structure are also underway.
United have reportedly made Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth their top target to streamline their club operations.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, in an interview with Football Insider, said that United should do whatever it takes to bring Ashworth to the club.
The Toons are reportedly demanding a compensation figure in seven figures for the person they themselves only recently poached from Brighton.
Maguire, however, says that a “£5 million fee is an absolute bargain if “you’re going to reduce the number of duds that a club signs”.
It is a harsh but fair critique of United’s transfer policy, with the club spending billions in the market after Sir Alex’s retirement with not many trophies to show for it.
Maguire said Ashworth has become “a prized asset” for Newcastle because “he’s a safe pair of hands who understands “broader requirements and needs of the club”.
Similar was the case at Brighton, where Newcastle had to pay them a hefty fee to buy out Ashworth’s contract at the club, such was their commitment to signing him.
United will have to put forward a similar effort and considering Ashworth hasn’t worked at Newcastle for long, they are fully within their rights to put up a strong resistance.
Ultimately, spending £5 million on an accomplished executive to save millions more in the transfer market is precisely the kind of smart decision-making the club has lacked under the Glazers.
Fans would be very surprised if the theme continued under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
