Dan Ashworth is back in football with yet another job, this time back at the FA after brief stints at in Newcastle and Manchester.
The former Toon sporting director isn’t the most popular of figures on Tyneside after forcing a move to Manchester United that saw us receive £5m in compensation.
It was an ultimately pointless endeavour by the Red Devils as Ashworth spent about as much time on gardening leave as he did in a job at Old Trafford!
Still, Ashworth found himself another new job in football earlier this week, and it may see him look no further than his already established relationship with Howe as he plans for the future within the England set up.
Eddie Howe will “feature prominently” in talks led by FA first chief football officer Dan Ashworth in the succession plan for current England boss Thomas Tuchel, according to The Mail’s Craig Hope.
Ashworth was employed as our sporting director from February 2022 to February 2024 before departing for an even briefer stay at Old Trafford, during which time he suggested Howe as the replacement for Erik ten Hag, Hope revels.
One of his first tasks in his new role with the FA will be to establish a process for the replacement of Tuchel, should he not extend his contract after the 2026 World Cup.
Craig Hope reported in last night’s Confidential column that Howe is likely to be amongst the first names suggested to take on the role, having previously being talked about as entering the role before Tuchel’s arrival.
There is still a “mutual respect and understanding” between Howe and Ashworth despite suggestions the two’s relationship may have become fractured due to the manner in which Ashworth departed St. James’ Park.
That does not however seem to be the case, though it still feels too early into the PIF project for Howe to depart the North East…
It feels all but a foregone conclusion that one day Howe will be England boss and rightly so, but there is still plenty of work to be done at Newcastle; more trophies, establishing ourself in the Champions League and developing the top talent he’s brought to Tyneside.
Additionally, is he really ready to give up the day-to-day nature of Premier League management when he clearly loves working with players every day?
I sincerely doubt we’ll have too much to worry about after the 2026 World Cup should the call come for Howe to be offered the England job, especially given our current trajectory and plans to invest heavily this summer.
Howe, Ashworth and what their futures mean for Newcastle in the January transfer market - The Athletic