9 months ago
51 Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided his latest information on Dan Ashworth’s potential move to become the new sporting director at Manchester United, whilst also heaping praise onto Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his round of media interviews yesterday.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano hailed Ratcliffe as a breath of fresh air for Man Utd, following confirmation that the British billionaire had been successful in his purchase of a minority stake in the club.
It now looks like Ashworth will be a crucial appointment for Ratcliffe in his quest to turn things around for the Red Devils after this difficult period for them since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement back in 2013.
There’s no major update on poaching Ashworth for the time being, with Romano saying talks are ongoing between United and Newcastle, though he admitted it’s not the easiest negotiation for them to pull off.
Ratcliffe has made his Man Utd intentions clear, says Romano
“I was impressed with how Sir Jim Ratcliffe spoke – it was very good communication in my opinion,” Romano said. “Breath of fresh air for the club, very clear intentions, honest words.”
On the Ashworth situation, he added: “For Dan Ashworth it’s a negotiation now with Man United and Newcastle involved, we can just wait and see how it progresses. It’s not easy but Man United are working on it, they consider this one as priority.”

United fans will hope this proves to be an important day on the start of a new era for the club, with Ratcliffe certainly seeming like he could inspire more confidence and provide more ambition to MUFC than the Glazers have done in recent times.
Ashworth coming in next certainly seems like it will be crucial, though, with United so often making costly errors in the transfer market in recent times, with smarter recruitment needed to catch up with their rivals.
