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It was 17 days ago on Valentine’s Day, when after Sir Jim Ratcliffe had got Premier League approval to become a minority part-owner at Manchester United, it was then claimed in the media that they had approached Dan Ashworth to become their Sporting Director or some similar role / title.
Things progressed swiftly and 12 days ago on 19 February 2024, Newcastle United officially announced (see below) that Ashworth had been put on gardening leave, ahead of moving on to another club. Not named in the official statement but obviously Man U.
Things have gone very quiet on the Dan Ashworth story, that is until this ‘exclusive’…
The Sun report – 1 March 2024:
‘Man Utd’s incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth holds secret meeting with Graham Potter as pressure builds on Ten Hag
Manchester United’s incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth has met with Graham Potter as pressure grows on Erik ten Hag.
Ex-Chelsea boss Potter is the favourite of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his assistant Sir David Brailsford to become Old Trafford boss if the new Red Devils part-owner fires Ten Hag.
Ashworth and Potter worked closely at Brighton and it is understood the pair got together last weekend.
Ratcliffe is a big fan of the ex-Brighton boss and tried to get him to manage his French side Nice.
Ratcliffe has already brought in a new CEO in Omar Berrada, poached from neighbours City.
Ashworth, placed on gardening leave by Newcastle, is next in his sights and United are trying to thrash out a compensation deal with the Magpies demanding double the £10million offered.’
This ‘exclusive’ is truly ridiculous.
Now I very much doubt that what has been claimed has actually happened, namely Dan Ashworth having a secret meeting with Graham Potter, with a view to becoming Man U manager in place of Ten Hag.
However… if indeed this meeting has / had taken place, then the big ‘exclusive’ wouldn’t be Dan Ashworth having met Graham Potter.
It would be the fact that Dan Ashworth (and almost certainly Manchester United) would be in serious trouble, as he / they would have quite clearly broken the gardening leave contract terms!
As you can see above, the report itself actually also says that Dan Ashworth is still on gardening leave. If they had claimed in the same report that Newcastle United and Man U had agreed compensation and Ashworth’s gardening leave had now ended, then at least this story would have made some sense. Even if you doubted how much truth there actually was in it…
However, The Sun journalist (Newcastle United fan Neil Custis!) who has written this ‘exclusive’, clearly doesn’t appear to have a remote clue as to what gardening leave actually is. As otherwise that would have been the ‘exclusive’, Dan Ashworth and Man U in serious trouble for trampling over the Newcastle United contract terms that have seen him put on gardening leave.
Dan Ashworth is still a Newcastle United employee, he is still getting paid by NUFC, his gardening leave as per his Newcastle United contract, means he can’t work for another football club until the gardening leave expires as per the NUFC contract terms, or Man U pay acceptable extra compensation to Newcastle United.
It makes you wonder what the journalist actually thinks gardening leave is and indeed the other journalists / media that have blindly copied this Sun ‘exclusive’.
If Dan Ashworth holding a meeting to talk to somebody about taking the Man U manager’s job isn’t breaking his Newcastle United contract and gardening leave terms, then what is??? This is exactly the type of thing that Ashworth absolutely can’t do, work for another football club or indeed any other employer, without Newcastle United’s express permission.
Newcastle United official announcement – 19 February 2024:
Newcastle United can announce that Dan Ashworth has commenced a period of gardening leave.
Darren Eales, Newcastle United CEO, said: “We are naturally disappointed that Dan has chosen to leave, however our exciting journey doesn’t stop and the process to recruit a new sporting director will begin immediately.
“We thank Dan for his efforts at Newcastle United and we wish him and his family well for the future.”

 
