Dan Ashworth has previously stated there is “no point” in buying a player the first-team manager does not wish to sign. There has been confusion among Newcastle United supporters about how the recruitment process will function since the former Brighton chief was appointed as sporting director on Monday.
Fans are excited that such a highly-rated operator will arrive at St James' Park ahead of the expected summer shopping spree. Previously, Eddie Howe, Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and head of recruitment Steve Nickson clubbed together to draft up potential targets during a chaotic January transfer window.
During the latter stages of Mike Ashley’s regime, the trio of Nickson, Lee Charnley and Steve Bruce - or Rafa Benitez beforehand - worked in cohesion to discuss transfer activity, with the manager having the final say on players. The arrival of Ashworth is unanimously seen as a positive but those who believe he will yield all the power may need to rethink.
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Speaking to UCFB in 2020, the Toon’s new supremo dismissed suggestions of ever overruling a manager for a player - hinting that Howe could still have the final say on transfers.
“Ultimately, from my point of view, there is no point disagreeing with the first-team manager,” he said. “If want to sign him and he doesn't, he is not going to play it, so it is a fruitless exercise.
“There is no point, in my view, of the sporting director overruling the manager on a player because, if they do and the manager doesn't want them, they're not going to play. So it becomes a waste of money.”
Ashworth - who also enjoyed a successful six-year stint at the FA - also spoke about the “traffic light system” he adopts to ensure there is unity between the manager, recruitment setup and the statistics.
“We work off a traffic light system,” he added. “The recruitment department has got to like him, he's got to stack up on data and numbers, like contract value, can we afford him, and the first-team manager has to like him.
“If all three of those things have green lights, we'll go ahead. If one of them's orange, we will discuss why. (Is) he a bit pricey? Well, let's try and get him for less. First-team manager not sure? Okay, well, what else can we give you to make your mind up? Or the recruitment department going ‘look, we think there's better in the market’… we chat it through.”
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