New Dan Ashworth claims emerge from Manchester - Toon deal not so good after all?
Just when it looked like Newcastle United fans could finally close the book on Dan Ashworth’s tumultuous tenure as Sporting Director of the club, new speculation could be set to rile many supporters about the situation all over again.
Although officially undisclosed, previous reports stated that Newcastle United received around £10m in exchange for Ashworth’s early departure, with the threat of arbitration looming. But the latest claims suggest otherwise in terms of the fee agreed for the 53-year-old.
Speaking in Tuesday’s episode of ‘Talk Of The Devils’ podcast, Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic stated that the figure is far less than what many believed it to be. “I’m told that the compensation for him isn’t too far away from what Newcastle paid to Brighton, which is around £2.5 million.” He said.
Who knows, this may be put out by a member of the Manchester press pack as good PR for Jim Ratcliffe, but it does sound like we've ended up with a fraction of the £20m fee we initially demanded for Ashworth.
Newcastle weren’t without a sporting director for long however, as top talent-spotter Paul Mitchell was announced at the beginning of July, bringing years of experience at RB Leipzig, Tottenham and Monaco to Eddie Howe's Mags. An upgrade, perhaps? Well, The Athletic reported earlier this year that Mitchell turned down INEOS, suggesting Man Utd chiefs may have wanted Mitchell before ending up with Ashworth instead!
Since a compensation package was finally agreed with Man Utd last month, Erik ten Hag’s side have quickly made their presence known in the transfer market, signing Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee and agreeing a £52m deal for Lille's Leny Yoro, with the likes of Mathijs De Ligt and Manuel Ugarte also heavily linked.
