Newcastle United's new sporting director Dan Ashworth will play a crucial role in the recruitment on Tyneside both this summer and beyond. The 51-year-old arrives in the north east with a respected track record and a wealth of knowledge in this field.
Ashworth 's time at the FA coincided with England's U17 and U20 sides winning their respective World Cups. Gareth Southgate also praised the work of his technical director before he departed for Brighton.
It was on the south coast where he continued his good work, overseeing six key roles as he worked closely with Brighton chairman Tony Bloom. Before then Ashworth honed his craft at West Brom.
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It's a long time since his stint at the Baggies but Ashworth is still remembered fondly at the Hawthorns. The director himself also rates his time at the club as a success, despite admitting in recent years that he had very limited knowledge of what a sporting director's role entailed when he was promoted to that position.
Ashworth believes Romelu Lukaku was his best signing at the club after they managed to persuade then up and coming Belgian to leave Chelsea temporarily. “I think as a loan, Lukaku has gone on to have a fantastic career so player-wise probably him,” he said earlier this year.
“We put a presentation together because he had two or three other Premier League clubs who were in for him at the time. And Rom came to us and scored 17 goals that season and really helped us finish in the top eight."
Ashworth has made no secret of his penchant for travelling abroad and scouting unknown gems. But it doesn't always work out, as he discovered when he took Roy Hodgson to the Netherlands to scout a centre-back. “Roy didn’t like him, said he was no good and told me I’d wasted two days of his time," Ashworth admitted recently.
However, as that door closed, another door opened and allowed Gareth McAuley to step through. “Not long later, I took him to Ipswich vs Norwich to watch Gareth McAuley. McAuley was playing for Ipswich, it was at Portman Road," he continued.
“Ipswich lost 5-1. And I think McAuley scored an own-goal. I’m sat there knowing I’ve got a four-hour drive home with Roy. I’m dreading this car journey. I thought I was going to get it. We got in the car and Roy said, ‘I like him well done. He marks a bit tight but I think I can get something out of him’. We signed him on a free and he was an absolute legend for the club.”
Ben Foster, Claudio Yacob, Jonas Olsson, Graham Dorrans, Peter Odemwingie and Gonzalo Jara were also brought in for bargain fees under Ashworth and went on to enjoy successful stints at the Baggies. However, not every move got over the line.
Ashworth wanted to sign Nemanja Matic before he had even made his name at Chelsea. Watching him in Slovenia back in the day, the new Newcastle chief knew there was a player in there.
“Yeah, Nemanja Matic was one. I went over to Slovenia, I went and watched him, he was going to be €200,000 (£170,000), he was young. I can’t remember why we didn’t get the deal done, but you talk about him as one that got away,” Ashworth said.
That tactic of searching far and wide for the right type of player has been evident at Brighton more recently. Under Ashworth, the Seagulls have signed players from Austria, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ecuador, The Netherlands, Switzerland and England's lower leagues among others.
Prior to Ashworth’s arrival at the Amex, Brighton struggled to spend their money wisely, unloading £79.2m on Jurgen Locadia, Jose Izquierdo and Davy Propper, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Bernardo, Martin Montoya and Florin Andone. While Propper went on to make over 100 appearances on the south coast, the others failed to impress and are no longer with the club.
Ashworth has opted for a slightly different tactic, focusing on young, fresh talent from a range of countries. Leandro Trossard arrived from Belgian's top flight, aged 25, costing £18m. He has been a revelation in the Premier League.
Big sums of money have still been spent elsewhere but yielded better results. For example, Neal Maupay and Adam Webster both cost £20m from lower league English sides but have settled at Brighton and increased their price tags.
The club picked up teenage sensation Tariq Lamptey from Chelsea for just £3m, taking advantage of Chelsea and their bloated academy. Lamptey has been a sensation and is destined to be a future England star.
Ashworth has always subscribed to the notion that young players need to be nurtured. At Brighton, Jan Paul van Hecke, Michal Karbownik and Jakub Moder are three youngsters that have been brought in but immediately loaned out to aid their development.
Moises Caicedo is another who falls into that category, with Brighton beating Manchester United and Chelsea to the signature of the Independiente del Valle teenagr for £4.5m back in 2020. He has since been loaned out to Belgium but has a bright future ahead.
Ashworth's appointment has rightly pleased fans on Tyneside. His knowledge and track record means Newcastle United will enter their new era with a competent operator, who leaves football clubs in a better shape than when they joined.
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