Man Utd take step closer to top Ratcliffe target after rivals open talks

Suraj Radia

• 14 Mar 2024 20:11 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United could be boosted in their pursuit of one of their top targets under new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with Newcastle ready to speed up the departure of director Dan Ashworth.

Ashworth was placed on gardening leave by Newcastle after Man Utd made a formal approach last month to make the 53-year-old their new sporting director.

The Magpies are frustrated at the prospect of losing their highly-regarded director, having only hired him from Brighton two years ago, however talks are said to be ‘amicable’ over his exit despite the initial bad feelings over Man Utd’s approach.

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Newcastle have so far demanded a compensation fee of around £20 million to reduce Ashworth’s gardening leave, which would currently prevent him from joining any other club until the end of 2025.

But the The Telegraph have claimed that Newcastle are now willing to negotiate over a fee, although they would still be ‘extremely reluctant’ to allow Ashworth to start work with his new club before the summer transfer window.

Instead, Newcastle CEO Darren Eales is in talks to allow Man Utd to hire Ashworth before the end of this year, subject to a suitable compensation fee being agreed.

Newcastle line up targets to replace Ashworth

The main reason behind Newcastle being willing to drop their demands is due to the club’s desire to move on and appoint a replacement, having initially been prepared to wait until later in the year to do so.

Former Southampton and Tottenham director Paul Mitchell, who is out of work after a stint with French side Monaco, is said to head Newcastle’s list to succeed Ashworth.

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The club’s shortlist is also thought to include Brentford director of football Phil Giles – a boyhood Newcastle fan – as well as West Ham’s Tim Steidten and former Roma executive Tiago Pinto, who publicly expressed his desire for the role this week.

Newcastle’s current head of recruitment Steve Nickson is also pushing to take on a wider role in the aftermath of Ashworth’s departure, although Mitchell is considered a frontrunner largely due to being out of work and therefore not requiring the same period of gardening leave as a recruit from a Premier League rival would.

Mitchell is said to be keen on a return to England while Newcastle are hoping to hire someone to begin work straight away, having recognised the need to fill the director role sooner rather than later ahead of a busy summer.