Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has once again shown a ruthless streak after his plan to fill the void left by Dan Ashworth was revealed.
Man Utd’s pursuit of Ashworth lasted longer than his stint in the sporting director role. The shock split was officially confirmed by Man Utd on Sunday, with a power struggle with CEO Omar Berrada understood to be at the heart of the matter.
The sporting director role is now vacant at Old Trafford and speculation over who will fill the void is already swirling.
But according to a fresh update from The Sun, there will be no replacement for one very simple reason – the sporting director position no longer exists.
The report claims United co-owner Ratcliffe has scrapped the position. As such, Ashworth will go down as the first and perhaps last sporting director in Man Utd’s history.
The question of who will assume the responsibilities Ashworth held remains a valid one and per the report, Ratcliffe has opted to expand the roles of senior figures already in situ.
The report stated: ‘Ratcliffe decided that his INEOS right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, United chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will share the responsibilities of the position.’
That echoes recent reporting from trusted journalist Ben Jacobs. Taking to X over the weekend, Jacobs wrote: “Jason Wilcox and likely Chris Vivell (interim director of recruitment) may take enhanced roles.
“Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc (CEO of INEOS sport) are involved in recruitment. And Omar Berrada remains a key voice in football and business decisions. He drove Ruben Amorim’s appointment.”
Arsenal move for Ashworth as reasons behind exit emerge
Ashworth might not have long to wait before landing his next role, with The Sun adding Arsenal have already ‘lined up’ an approach.
Ashworth is understood to hold a close relationship with Arsenal’s managing director, Richard Garlick, who is the figure leading their hunt for a new sporting director.
Edu previously served in that role before resigning from the post in November. Edu is currently serving a six-month period of gardening leave before taking a senior role with the network of clubs owned by Evangelos Marinakis.
Arsenal fans will no doubt be keen to understand their potential successor to Edu didn’t work out at Old Trafford.
Numerous reasons have emerged, with the first the aforementioned power struggle with Berrada.
Ashworth believed Man Utd should buy and hire the ‘best of British’ and that extended to the manager’s office. When the time came to replacing Erik ten Hag, Ashworth wanted an English manager like Eddie Howe, Graham Potter or Gareth Southgate.
Conversely, Ratcliffe put his faith for that critical decision in Berrada who adopted a more data-driven approach. The end result was Berrada got both his way and his man – Ruben Amorim.
Elsewhere, ESPN reported Ratcliffe was unhappy with Ashworth’s handling of the summer transfer window. Two signings – Matthijs De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee – have already been logged as disappointments.
The Daily Mail also weighed in with claims Ashworth paid the price for disassociating himself from the club’s decision to stay faithful to Ten Hag last summer. They also stated Ratcliffe was left ‘infuriated’ by Ashworth’s claim that he had nothing to do with keeping the Dutchman in charge following their FA Cup win.
However, the fact that Ashworth had gone public in September by showing faith in the Dutchman weakened his argument that he had nothing to do with the decision to extend his stay.
Latest Man Utd news – Winger signed / Theo Hernandez wanted
In other news, Man Utd have sealed the signing of a highly-rated 16-year-old winger.
Elsewhere, a second source has confirmed Man Utd’s interest in AC Milan left-back, Theo Hernandez.
Amorim has made signing a left-back/left wing-back his No 1 priority in the transfer market and Hernandez’s price tag has dropped by €30m.
Finally, TEAMtalk have ranked each of the first-team signings Ashworth made in his brief career at Old Trafford. Interestingly, his cheapest signing so far appears to be the only unqualified success.
Dan Ashworth’s five major signings at Man Utd
Dan Ashworth signings at Man Utd
Dan Ashworth signings at Man Utd