Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Dan Ashworth in a joint statement with rivals Newcastle United.
Ashworth was Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ number one target for a maiden sporting director role at Old Trafford and it seems like the new United ownership have finally landed their main man.
Since February, United and Newcastle have been locked in talks over Ashworth but those negotiations never bore any fruit.
This is because the Magpies were demanding an unrealistic compensation package worth up to £20 million to let their executive circumvent his notice period and start work at United immediately. On their part, INEOS made it crystal clear they had no intention of forking out such a sum for non-playing personnel.
Ashworth has been on gardening leave while both clubs were attempting to break the deadlock over his future.
On Sunday, a report from The Peoples Person relayed that United and Eddie Howe’s side were on the brink of striking an agreement over his future.
Earlier today, David Ornstein confirmed that a breakthrough had been reached between the two Premier League clubs and Ashworth was set to start work at United immediately.
The 20-time English champions and Newcastle have now released a statement confirming Ornstein’s information.
The statement reads, “Newcastle United and Manchester United have reached an agreement for the immediate release of Dan Ashworth from his contractual obligations at Newcastle United.”
“The terms of this agreement remain confidential between the clubs. Newcastle United thanks Dan for his services and wishes him well for the future.”
While both outfits insist that the terms of Ashworth’s release are confidential, a recent report shed some light on the amount of money United forked out to secure the transfer and recruitment guru’s services.
It’s believed that Newcastle ended up accepting an offer of “significantly less than £10 million” to get the deal over the line.
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