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Newcastle United are braced to lose director of football Dan Ashworth to Manchester United, though he may not be allowed to start his new role until 2025.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe had gained approval from the Premier League to complete his acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in the Red Devils.
Ineos will take control of football affairs as part of the deal and have already secured the appointment of Omar Berrada as the club’s new chief executive, poaching him from fierce rivals Manchester City in the process.
Next up, they have their sights set on a new sporting director and appear to be closing in on an agreement with former FA chief Ashworth.
According to The Telegraph, Newcastle have been preparing themselves for the 52-year-old’s potential move to Old Trafford ‘for several days’.
Although United have yet to make an official approach to Newcastle, Ashworth is now increasingly likely to leave in what would be a huge blow to the Magpies and their ambitions of breaking up the so-called Big Six.
However, United will be required to pay a multi-million pound compensation settlement to extract Ashworth from his current contract.
On top of that, Newcastle will also insist that he sits out a lengthy period of gardening leave which is likely to prevent him from starting work at United until 2025.
Newcastle have not entirely given up hope of convincing Ashworth to stay and will seek assurances from him in the coming days.
Ineos are unlikely to be put off by Ashworth’s lengthy notice period, with Berrada similarly unable to take up his new role until the summer.
Ashworth has played a key role in quickly transforming Newcastle on and off the pitch following the club’s takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Despite the links to United, Ashworth has continued to perform his duties as per usual and has been involved in long-term transfer window planning in the past month.
Interestingly, he is a friend of Sir Dave Brailsford, the former head of cycling for Team GB, who now has the role of Director of Sport at Ineos and has been overseeing the transition.
Brailsford will play a leading role in how United is reshaped under Ineos and has been at Old Trafford for a number of home games since the minority ownership deal was announced, while he has also been a regular visitor to Carrington.
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