Ashworth lasted five months and six days at United
Ashworth lasted five months and six days at United
Dan Ashworth was not in favour of appointing Ruben Amorim as the new head coach of Manchester United.
Separate sources say Ashworth was not involved in the process of selecting Amorim and that he recommended a move for former England manager Gareth Southgate, with whom he worked at the Football Association between 2013-18.
Amorim was a candidate that United already had under consideration before Ashworth took over as sporting director on July 1.
Chief executive Omar Berrada spearheaded the approach for Amorim and convinced him to take over United mid-season amid interest from Manchester City to have him possibly replace Pep Guardiola in the summer.
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When asked for comment, United referred to their communication at the time of Amorim's appointment that it was a unanimous decision by the senior club leadership.
A source said things "had not been rosy" with Ashworth for a few weeks. Ashworth's exit was confirmed exactly two weeks on from Amorim's first match in charge at Ipswich Town.
The statement that confirmed Amorim's imminent arrival on November 1 was not accompanied by quotes from Ashworth and nor was the communiqué to announce Erik ten Hag's departure in October. Ashworth was quoted in the statements to announce the signings of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte in the summer.
Ashworth, 53, left United on Saturday night after only five months and six days as the club's inaugural sporting director. United paid Newcastle United a fee of between £2million and £3m to hire Ashworth, who also previously worked at Brighton and West Brom.
Amorim has proved to be a popular choice with the United fanbase, though his arrival has failed to galvanise a team described as "mediocre" by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
United have lost two of Amorim's four Premier League matches in charge and plummeted down to 13th in the Premier League this week after successive defeats.
Southgate recently suggested he may not manage again in a post on Linkedin.