Revealed: The big-money Man Utd signing Ratcliffe didn’t want as real reason for Dan Ashworth exit emerges

Manchester United have been told they “hired the wrong guy” in Dan Ashworth, with the true reasons behind his Old Trafford departure now coming to light and with the summer signing Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS bosses never wanted in the first place also being revealed.

The arrival of Ratcliffe and INEOS as the club’s new minority shareholders a year ago was supposed to mark the dawn of an exciting new era at Manchester United. With the British billionaire having invested some £1.3bn into acquiring a 27.7% stake in the club, supporters were hopeful that it would mark the start of happier times for the club. However, some 12 months into his reign, the Red Devils appear to have lurched from one crisis to another under the control of the UK’s second-wealthiest man.

Having made some 250 staff at Old Trafford redundant to help the club save some £8m in annual wages, Ratcliffe has further angered fans by announcing an increase in season ticket prices. And having also handed Erik ten Hag a new deal, only to sack him some weeks later before then turning to Ruben Amorim, it’s safe to say the INEOS era has gotten off to an inglorious start.

However, arguably the biggest blunder of all came with the appointment of Ashworth as sporting director, having been Newcastle some £5m for his services after a long-drawn-out saga.

But after overseeing a summer transfer window that saw the club shell out some £180m on five new signings, the 53-year-old was then shown the door just five months after his arrival, with his dismissal costing United a further £4.1m.

Now ESPN journalist Mark Ogden has shared what he has learned on Ashworth’s exit, explaining why he was never the right appointment for what United wanted to achieve and having also named Matthijs de Ligt as the summer signing that Ratcliffe and INEOS bosses both disagreed with their former sporting director about.

“There are two ways to look at the Ashworth situation, I mean, my view is that they hired the wrong guy for the wrong job,” Ogden said on ESPN’s X page.

“Dan Ashworth is known for building the structure of a club, building behind the scenes and getting the right people in place. What he isn’t is a sporting director. He’s not a guy who will pick up the phone to people in Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey to find a player or to offload a player.

“If you want somebody like that, you go for Aston Villa’s Monchi; he’s somebody who has a real track record of doing it over the years. It’s a different role.”

Turning attention to De Ligt, Ogden added: “The club didn’t want Matthijs de Ligt. He was a signing that was driven through by Ten Hag, and despite the fact they felt well-stocked with centre-halves, Ashworth felt that because they’d just given Ten Hag a new contract, they have to show they have faith in him by signing a player he wanted. So you can say that was a weakness on Dan Ashworth’s part.”

IN-DEPTH🔴⚫Ranking every player Dan Ashworth signed for Man Utd

Ashworth also pushed for another flop Man Utd signing

Despite having already shelled out some £52.1m to Lille for Leny Yoro, United then proceeded to spend a further £38.5m to bring De Ligt to the club from Bayern Munich.

And while the Dutchman has since gone on to make some 32 appearances so far this season, the jury remains out over whether he is an upgrade on what United already have at their disposal.

Indeed, one pundit recently lashed out at the club for spending an ‘obscene amount’ on the player after a ‘robotic’ display was recently slammed.

In defence of his signing, though, another long-term injury suffered by Lisandro Martinez, combined with Amorim’s preference to play in a 3-4-2-1 formation, means De Ligt has become a regular in the United backline this season.

However, Ogden reveals that the defender is not the only summer signing that Ashworth pushed for this summer, having also named Joshua Zirkzee as another addition that the former England technical director pursued, with his struggles so far this season again indicating another transfer mistake.

“The flip side is that Joshua Zirkzee is a player who really struggled this season. He was a signing that was driven by Dan Ashworth and the recruitment team, so his first window wasn’t great.”

As a result, Ogden feels INEOS deserves some applause for quickly realising the error of their ways and acting quickly to get rid of him.

“So, having made the wrong appointment, you have to maybe give INEOS credit to get rid of him,” he concluded.

Latest Man Utd news: Bayern reach Antony decision; mole goes into hiding

Meanwhile, another costly transfer blunder, Antony, has finally been able to showcase his talents away from Old Trafford during an impressive loan move to Real Betis in Spain.

Since joining the LaLiga club on loan, the Brazilian has been playing with a weight lifted from his shoulders, scoring three times and adding one assist from his first five outings. He’s also won three Man of the Match awards in that time.

Indeed, such has been his improvement that there is now growing talk that a high-profile transfer could be on the cards this summer, with Bayern Munich the latest side to be linked. As a result, a trusted source has now revealed all on those links to Vincent Kompany’s side.

Elsewhere, Amorim appears to have been putting out fires left, right and centre since taking charge and now an update claims the fuming Portuguese has forced the person accused of leaking first-team line-ups into hiding.

That report comes just 24 hours after a controversial pundit claimed Amorim could sensationally QUIT Old Trafford and seek an immediate return to Portugal with Sporting CP after learning the job at United was far harder than initially expected.

Man Utd’s transfers under Dan Ashworth (add-ons included)