Dan Ashworth exit at Man Utd blamed on double transfer blunder with Ratcliffe left ‘infuriated’

Two new theories have been floated over why Manchester United decided to part company with sporting director Dan Ashworth, with anger over two of their summer signings and with a row over Erik ten Hag now being blamed and having left Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘infuriated’.

News broke on Sunday morning that Ashworth would be leaving Old Trafford less than five months after they paid Newcastle some £3m in compensation to bring him in from Newcastle. Having first been identified by minority shareholder Ratcliffe in December of last year and having been given a key role in both recruitment and managerial decisions at Old Trafford, his exit came as a major shock for all associated with Manchester United.

At the time of his departure, United released a pretty curt 41-word message announcing his farewell. However, anger has been expressed by several observers while several theories, including a row over the future of former manager Erik ten Hag, have since been floated.

Gary Neville is among those to have quickly taken United to task over the decision and the timing of it.

However, two new suggestions over why Ashworth departed so soon have now risen to the surface, with the signings of Dutch duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt, who have both failed to hit the ground running at Old Trafford and are already being viewed as big blunders, now being blamed.

Per ESPN, Ashworth played a key role in both deals this summer. First off, it’s reported that De Ligt was signed in a £42.9m move from Bayern Munich with Ashworth keen to show his backing to Ten Hag, who was keen on reuniting with his former Ajax charge.

Zirkzee, meanwhile, is said to have been identified by Ashworth’s scouting team based on data analytics. The Netherlands forward, however, has just three goals in 21 appearances so far after arriving in a £36.5m move from Bologna.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail claims Ashworth paid the price over disassociating himself from the club’s decision to stay faithful to Ten Hag. And they claim Ratcliffe was left ‘infuriated’ by Ashworth’s claim that he had nothing to do with keeping the Dutchman in charge over the summer.

However, the fact that Ashworth had gone public in September by showing faith in Dutchman weakened his argument that he had nothing to do with the decision to extend his stay.

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Nonetheless and regardless of how the club reached the decision, it does not reflect well on them and leaves supporters up in arms over Ratcliffe’s running of the club, with first Ten Hag and now Ashworth parting just a matter of weeks apart and only months after the signing of hefty contracts.

While it’s not yet been disclosed how big Ashworth’s pay-off will be, it stands to be substantial given he was only five-plus months into his deal at Old Trafford.

The saga has also been criticised by Sky Sports’ senior news reporter Melissa Reddy, who wrote:  ‘Significant questions will be raised over INEOS’ leading of football operations at Manchester United following Dan Ashworth’s departure from the club after just five months as sporting director.

‘The latest shock at Old Trafford, following on from the decision to keep Erik ten Hag, heavily back him in the summer window and then sack him 13 games into the season, will be another expensive exercise.

‘United paid £2m to £3m in compensation to Newcastle to secure Ashworth, whom they waited for longer than he was actually in the post, and his exit will come at additional cost.

‘Amid mass redundancies and the hiking of ticket prices, the sentiment is growing that ordinary people are paying for the mistakes of the hierarchy – first the Glazers, and now under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s navigation.

‘Ashworth’s appointment was held up as the ‘best in class’ approach that would underpin United’s new structure.

‘While sources insist there was no major falling out but rather an agreement that the set-up was not working well, it is another embarrassing look for INEOS’ decision-making.

‘They will counter that with Ten Hag and Ashworth, they have been willing to back someone but have shown a decisive edge when it is apparent change is necessary.’

More theories on Ashworth exit as Ornstein, Fabrizio Romano have their say

Journalist David Ornstein has suggested that one factor behind Ashworth leaving was the executive not being on board with Ruben Amorim being selected as Ten Hag’s replacement.

A subsequent update from talkSPORT outright made that claim, with Alex Crook stating: “Understand Ashworth felt sidelined from the big decisions, almost from day one with [CEO, Omar] Berrada and [Sir Dave] Brailsford calling the shots.

“The tipping point was Amorim’s appointment. He (Ashworth) favoured a British coach i.e. [Gareth] Southgate. Also been told there was a clash of personalities [between Ashworth and Berrada].”

TEAMtalk sources had confirmed to us at the time of Ten Hag’s sacking that Ashworth was very much on board with the appointment of an English manager.

Fabrizio Romano also weighed in on the situation, claiming Ratcliffe was “not happy at all” with Ashworth’s handling of the summer.

While not explicitly stated, the inference is Ratcliffe has taken a dim view of Ashworth’s management of the previous transfer window.

That is a viewpoint that appears to be backed up by Ratcliffe’s comments when speaking to the United We Stand fanzine on Saturday.

“Manchester United must have the best recruitment in the world,” said Ratcliffe.

“You can’t just flick a light switch and sort out recruitment. It’s all about people and we need to find the right ones.”

Dan Ashworth’s five signings at Man Utd