Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly been told to increase his offer for Dan Ashworth by an eye-watering £13million after making a lowball offer during negotiations. Ratcliffe is keen to appoint Ashworth as United’s new sporting director to kickstart INEOS’s reign at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe is expected to make sweeping changes to the club’s hierarchy over the coming months. Omar Berrada is set to arrive from Manchester City as CEO in a major early coup for the United minority shareholder.
Jason Wilcox completed his move from Southampton last week and will be the new technical director. It comes after INEOS duo Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc were also appointed to roles within the club’s football operations team.
United have been desperate to appoint the highly-rated former FA technical director Ashworth as their new sporting director. However, the Red Devils are learning that he will not come cheap.
Ratcliffe is reported to have held talks with Newcastle director Amanda Staveley to accelerate discussions over Ashworth’s future, with the Magpies placing their sporting director on an 18-month gardening leave period.
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According to the Daily Telegraph, Ratcliffe made a £2m offer for Ashworth, effectively covering the fee that Newcastle paid to Brighton for the 53-year-old in 2022. However, Newcastle reportedly want at least £15m with an extra £5m in add-ons.
It is claimed that United would be prepared to pay a small uplift on the £2m fee to hire Ashworth before the summer. They feel that an extra £10m would be better spent on the playing squad, which is in huge need of improvement after a tough year for Erik ten Hag’s side.
Ashworth stepped down as Newcastle’s sporting director but was placed on gardening leave. Newcastle are reportedly seeking a replacement which could speed up negotiations with United over Ashworth’s future.
Steve Nickson, Newcastle’s head of recruitment, has taken on more responsibility in Ashworth’s absence. The Telegraph report that the Magpies would prefer a candidate with Premier League experience to replace the former West Brom chief.
Meanwhile, Ratcliffe appeared to make reference to Ashworth’s situation after completing the London Marathon in just over four hours on Sunday. Asked by the BBC if there are parallels between running a marathon and controlling a football club, he responded: “There are some parallels I have to say, but it just requires some grit.
“Running a marathon after 30km is difficult. We’re not there with football yet. One of the biggest problems with football is you get these new guys coming into the team, they’re capable people but they’re all on gardening leave.
“It’s a big problem in football. The fans are impatient. It’s a journey, they have to be patient. It’s not a light switch. We will turn it around.”
