· December 9 2024, 11:00
Former Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth has had quite the year.
In February it was announced that he would enter a period of gardening leave after announcing his intentions to leave the club in favour of a move to the Magpies historical rivals Manchester United.
He would finally get that move in July after the Red Devils paid Newcastle a compensation fee to release him from the leave early and he got to work straight away making several big decisions under the watchful eye of new minority stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
But things aren't going well on the pitch for Man United who were beaten by Nottingham Forest on Saturday forcing Ratcliffe to step in and take action alongside new CEO Omar Berrada.
What many didn't expect however was the extent at which Man United paid for Ashworth only to release him just five months later.
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Dan Ashworth
The true figure Manchester United paid Newcastle United for Dan Ashworth
At one point Newcastle wanted Man United to pay £20million compensation for Ashworth's early services. Ultimately, they paid £5m to get him in July.
It means the Red Devils paid £1m a month for Ashworth before sacking him.
Ashworth was busy during his time at Newcastle's historic rivals, playing a major part in key decisions like keeping Erik ten Hag at the club despite the Dutchman's sacking in November.
He also had a say in the signings of Lenny Yoro, Matthias de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, and Joshua Zirkzee.
Ratcliffe was unimpressed with Ashworth hence the decision to let him go.
Newcastle have since replaced the 53-year-old with Paul Mitchell but Toon fans are yet to see the extent of his influence. Fans will hope he can make an impact in the January transfer window.
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Dan Ashworth recommended Eddie Howe to replace Erik ten Hag.
While sacking ten Hag was heavily under consideration throughout the summer he managed to stay on due to his FA Cup win in May.
According to the Athletic, among the names that were put forward for the role were Fulham's Marco Silva, Thomas Frank at Brentford and Graham Potter who is yet to return to management following his departure from Chelsea in 2023.
Ashworth also put forward Newcastle boss Eddie Howe for the role despite a shaky end to his time at the Magpies.
Things could've looked a lot different for Ashworth if he stuck it out a bit longer as he struggled to work well with former Toon stakeholder Amanda Staveley. If he'd have known that she was to depart before he was placed on gardening leave he may have stayed at the club.