Newcastle
Report: The one thing that disappointed Newcastle about Dan Ashworth
Dan Ashworth’s time as Newcastle United sporting director is over much earlier than anticipated.
He was brought in by PIF to lead this exciting project at St James’ Park, but is walking away after less than two years.
The 52-year-old is currently on gardening leave ahead of a move to Manchester United. Dan Ashworth is on his way to Old Trafford, but it remains unclear when he will begin working there. That will depend on whether Newcastle and Manchester United can agree on a compensation package.
The Magpies are looking for a deal worth £20million, otherwise Ashworth might not be able to join Man United until early 2026.
The ball is in Man United’s court, while Newcastle look for Ashworth’s replacement. And during this process, they will be reflecting on what the former Brighton man did well on Tyneside, and where he could have improved.
And, according to the Athletic, Newcastle United have identified one area of disappointment.
Newcastle wanted to raise more money by selling players
According to the Athletic, there is some disappointment that Ashworth was not able to raise more revenue through player sales during his time as Toon sporting director.
There were two major departures during his tenure. Chris Wood joined Nottingham Forest for £15million, while Allan Saint-Maximin signed for Al Ahli for £23million.
However, they are the only notable departures. That is despite Newcastle desperately needing to sell in January in order to reinvest due to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
Ashworth has always spoke about the importance of player trading, but it is actually something he has struggled to do at St James’ Park.
In defence of Dan Ashworth
However, I will leap to his defence. You need to have saleable assets, and you could strongly argue that Ashworth did not have many that Eddie Howe could afford to lose.
For instance, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson were linked with moves away in January. But selling them would have been catastrophic if a replacement had not arrived, and there would have been no guarantee of that given how unpredictable the January transfer window can be.
But this issue stems back to a problem the new owners inherited. They took over a group of players, many of which should have been moved on already. Now they are a bit older, and much more difficult to sell – especially for a meaningful amount of money.
