Dan Ashworth has not been involved in football since his short-lived spell as Manchester United's sporting director came to an end in December, but he could soon be back in the game
Sport
Dan Ashworth is reportedly in talks to become the sporting director of Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
Al Nassr, who have signed big names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Jhon Duran, Aymeric Laporte, and Sadio Mane in recent years, is now potentially looking to put Ashworth in charge of their high-profile transfer dealings, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
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Ashworth hasn't been active in football since departing Manchester United 'by mutual agreement' last December. Yet, according to Sportitalia, he could make his comeback as discussions are said to be in progress for him to move to the Middle East and join forces with ex-United talisman Ronaldo.
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Previously holding positions at the FA, Brighton and Newcastle United, Ashworth was one of the key hires by Sir Jim Ratcliffe during the early days at Manchester United, alongside CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox.
While Berrada and Wilcox continue their tenure at Manchester United, Ashworth's term was short-lived, ending after just five months. Despite the official line of a mutually agreed departure, Ratcliffe recently hinted at deeper issues.
"I think we just have to say 'chemistry', really," Ratcliffe disclosed to The Telegraph. "I don't really want to go down that road. It is what it is, and it was our fault.", reports the Express.
United pulled out all the stops to secure Ashworth, who was put on gardening leave by his previous employer, Newcastle United, last February after signalling his intention to move to Old Trafford. It was over four months before both clubs reached an agreement on a compensation deal, which was understood to be worth in the region of £3 million.
Taking into account the considerable effort and resources invested in bringing Ashworth to United, as well as in former manager Erik ten Hag, Ratcliffe conceded that with hindsight, he would've tackled things differently.
"They were just mistakes," he reflected. "The Erik thing is slightly mitigating. There was quite a lot of debate about that at the time. He had just won a cup final. The fans were clearly of the view that we'd like to stick with him and all that sort of stuff.
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"They were both mistakes. I don't think we can say much more than that. It's a journey and there are a lot of decisions that we have to be made over the course of the journey and we're not going to get them all right. I don't think in the future we'll get them all right either because we're not perfect."
Ashworth, who has also been associated with the soon-to-be-filled sporting director role at Arsenal, anticipated to be taken by Andrea Berta, has since taken up a consultancy position with Warwickshire County Cricket Club. The potential impact of his speculated move to Saudi on this cricket role is yet to unfold.