Dan Ashworth blamed for double Manchester United transfer as Ineos left ‘infuriated’
Manchester United made the shock announcement on Sunday that Dan Ashworth had left his position as sporting director after just five months.
The news came after United’s poor 3-2 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest, which has left them 13th in the Premier League table after 15 games. Saturday’s defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo’s team followed Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at Arsenal.
United will now be looking to bounce back when they travel to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday. The Reds will then return to domestic action in the Manchester derby on Sunday with both City and Ruben Amorim’s side enduring a poor run of form.
READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe promised to stop Manchester United chaos – but nothing has changed at Old Trafford
READ MORE: Manchester United sporting director latest as favourite to replace Dan Ashworth emerges
Below, The Manchester Evening News has provided a round-up of the latest headlines surrounding United as well as a view on each of them…
Double transfer blame
Dan Ashworth has been blamed for the signings of Joshua Zikzee and Matthijs de Ligt. Both players have struggled since arriving at Old Trafford in the Summer.
According to ESPN, Ashworth played a key role in both deals with De Ligt claimed to have been signed as Ashworth wanted to show his backing to previous manager Erik ten Hag, who was keen on the deal. Zirkzee, meanwhile, is said to have been identified by Ashworth’s scouting team based on data analytics.
MEN Sport’s Isaac Seelochan says: “Zikzee has looked like a poor signing in particular, and when you consider his low goalscoring stats in Italy, it really was a baffling decision. Ashworth hasn’t covered himself in glory on several summer deals, but he is one of several figures at the club to blame for United’s poor 2024/25 season so far.”
Sir Jim ‘infuriated’
Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to have been ‘infuriated’ by Ashworth’s claim that he had nothing to do with keeping Erik ten Hag at the Reds. The Daily Mail claim that Ashworth’s comments played a role in his exit over the weekend.
Both Ashworth and Omar Berrada pointed out in a September interview that the decision to retain the Dutchman – which ended up backfiring spectacularly – was not theirs and was taken prior to their arrivals. It is claimed that those comments subsequently went down ‘like a lead balloon’ with Ratcliffe.
MEN Sport’s Isaac Seelochan says: “If these reports are true, then it’s clear that the relationship between Ashworth and Ratcliffe has been broken for some time. It’s no surprise then that things have unravelled so quickly at Old Trafford between the pair.”
