Dan Ashworth is being lined up for a return to the Football Association in a senior role following his departure from Newcastle United and Manchester United
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Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth
Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth(Image: PA)
Fresh reports suggest that Dan Ashworth, the former Newcastle United sporting director, is in talks about a potential return to the Football Association in a senior role.
The 54 year old has been jobless since his dismissal from Manchester United last year, just five months after he began a new role at Old Trafford. Man United had lured him away from Newcastle earlier in 2024.
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Ashworth first made a name for himself at West Brom where he spent five years in a senior role before moving the FA, where he was a key figure from 2012 to 2018 and was praised as the architect of the FA's DNA programme.
From head of elite development, Ashworth climbed the ranks to manage the entire football operation at St George's Park. He departed in 2018 to assume the sporting director role at Brighton and Hove Albion.
According to The Telegraph, Ashworth is now being considered for a 'major job' back at St George's Park. It's suggested that Ashworth would be in charge of the "St George's Park 2.0 project", recently announced by the FA as a "radical refurbishment" of the facility, reports Chronicle Live.
In addition to overseeing both the men's and women's senior and junior teams, Ashworth would also focus on coach development. This comes after German coach Thomas Tuchel replaced Gareth Southgate as the manager of the men's national team, due to a shortage of English candidates for the position.
Currently, only two English managers - Newcastle's Eddie Howe and West Ham's Graham Potter - are employed in the Premier League.
During Ashworth's previous stint at the FA, he saw the Under-17s and Under-20s crowned world champions in 2017, while the Under-19s clinched European glory in the same year. He was instrumental in Gareth Southgate's appointment as England manager following the Sam Allardyce debacle, witnessing Southgate take England to the World Cup semi-finals in Ashworth's final year with the FA.
At Newcastle United, Ashworth took charge of the "overarching sporting strategy, football development and recruitment at all age levels."
His tenure began in 2022 after Newcastle secured his services from Brighton, followed by a period of gardening leave.
However, Ashworth's time at Newcastle lasted less than two years and he moved to Manchester United, leading to another spell of gardening leave as Newcastle and Man United engaged in negotiations over compensation.
Since joining Old Trafford Ashworth had been the key figure quoted in major announcements, including Erik ten Hag's contract extension and the club's commitment to spending over £205m on new signings. However, following Ten Hag's dismissal, Ashworth's suggestion of Gareth Southgate as a potential replacement was overlooked in favour of Ruben Amorim, and he subsequently parted ways with the club in December.
Ratcliffe attributed the decision to a lack of chemistry, stating: "At the end of the day, it was chemistry. Maybe a bit more than chemistry, but let's just say chemistry and it didn't work. Just chemistry."