Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth has left the club by mutual consent after spending only five months in the role.
The 53-year-old started his role July 1, joining the club in acrimonious circumstances from Newcastle United after a period of gardening leave.
However, the club announced his departure on Sunday morning following a meeting at Old Trafford with chief executive Omar Berrada shortly after United’s 3–2 loss vs. Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Manchester United released a brief club statement on Ashworth’s exit, which said: “Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as sporting director of Manchester United by mutual agreement. We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.”
Ashworth formerly worked as a sporting director at Newcastle United, where he helped the club achieve Champions League qualification in his first full season at St James’ Park, and had also previously worked at Brighton and as technical director for the Football Association, working across England’s senior men’s and women’s teams.
His previous work had made him a chief target of new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe once the 72-year-old’s Ineos Group acquired a 27% stake in the club in February, that provided him with control over United’s football operations.
After protracted negotiations with Newcastle, Ashworth left the Magpies on gardening leave in February, after which Manchester United paid a fee of £3 million ($3.8 million) to acquire his services at the club.
Ashworth has overseen just one transfer window at the Red Devils, in which the club reportedly spent over £200 million on players, including Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee.
However, this season, Manchester United has had its worst start to a league campaign since 1986–87, with only 19 points earned from 15 matches after Saturday’s defeat against Forest.
Ashworth was a key figure in the dismissal of former manager Erik ten Hag in October, with the Englishman being quoted in the club’s official announcement of Ten Hag’s exit.
New head coach Rúben Amorim was appointed last month, after joining from Portuguese champions Sporting CP, but the 39-year-old’s working relationship with his new sporting director lasted less than a month with Ashworth’s immediate departure on Sunday morning.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Manchester United Sporting Director Surprisingly Leaves Position After Just Five Months.
