Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Exclusive: Man Utd confident of securing Dan Ashworth deal as £10m compromise is made

Man Utd are confident in striking a deal for Dan Ashworth

Man Utd are confident in striking a deal for Dan Ashworth

Manchester United remain optimistic of appointing Dan Ashworth as the club’s new sporting director before the summer transfer window opens, TEAMtalk understands.

The Old Trafford outfit are locked in talks with Newcastle over agreeing a deal to allow Ashworth to make the move to their Premier League rivals.

Talks have been at a standstill with Newcastle demanding a substantial compensation fee in the region of £20million from Man Utd to allow Ashworth to circumvent his notice period and make the switch to Old Trafford immediately.

However, Man Utd officials are optimistic of reaching a compromise with their Newcastle counterparts of around a £10m compensation fee for the remainder of his contract at Newcastle until 2025.

Newcastle are also aiming to move on from Ashworth and step up their own plans to bring in a replacement to fill the void ahead of this summer’s transfer window.

Man Utd made their official approach for Ashworth in February with the former FA and Brighton chief being placed on gardening leave by Newcastle after he informed the club of his desire to leave St James’ Park.

Ashworth is seen as a key appointment by Sir Jim Ratcliffe following his investment into United with INEOS owner keen to revamp the club’s recruitment structure as they look to close the gap on their rivals.

United have also made an approach for Southampton’s director of football Jason Wilcox to become technical director at Old Trafford to work alongside Ashworth who will have overall control of football operations.

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