The Athletic’s David Ornstein has issued an update on Newcastle United’s position after putting Dan Ashworth on gardening leave.
From the conversations he’s had with those in the know on Monday, Ornstein reports that Newcastle are focused on two factors; stopping Man Utd from having access to our sporting director for the upcoming summer transfer and ensuring the money is right.
He reports that the club are determined stop any communication between Ashworth and Man Utd over the coming months, as the 52-year-old holds a lot of information on our transfer plans and strategy.
Speaking on the BBC’s Monday Night Club, Ornstein said: “The conversations I’ve had today suggest Newcastle are most sensitive about this coming summer window.
“If they can block off Dan Ashworth from working for Man United and communicating with them during that period then beyond that perhaps things will be okay. The two points I have garnered are that they want the money to be right and they don’t want him working for Man United in this summer window.
“Beyond that, he wouldn’t be privy to the finer details of the plans, even though he has spoken in the past about how they work on multiple windows in advance so he’ll have an incline but then everyone in this industry knows what everybody else is doing.”
It’s believed Newcastle are holding out for a package worth £20m, but it remains to be seen if INEOS chiefs will agree to such a fee, negotiate a lower price or wait for his gardening leave to end in January 2026. The latter seems highly unlikely, but it’s clear we won’t buckle easily and allow one of our ‘big six’ rivals to take him on the cheap.
