Newcastle place Dan Ashworth on gardening leave following Manchester United approach

Newcastle have opted to place sporting director Dan Ashworth on gardening leave after asking to leave the club.

It has been heavily reported that Ashworth is Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford’s No.1 target for the sporting director role at Old Trafford.

According to The Athletic, Ashworth informed Newcastle of his decision on Sunday.

The same report suggests the Magpies could demand up to £20 million for Ashworth but formal contact is yet to take place between the clubs. That will soon change with their sporting director making his intentions known.

The situation is complicated on the basis of Ashworth being under contract at Newcastle, but it is understood that Sir Dave Brailsford is keen for him to begin work at United as soon as possible.

Ideally ahead of the transfer window.

Ashworth has not been at Newcastle for a very long time, but they took him from Brighton in 2022. He had already built a strong reputation by this point following his work with the FA.

When he joined Newcastle after resigning as technical director at Brighton, Ashworth served three months of gardening leave.

Newcastle will be worried about the fact Ashworth has been involved in all of their planning up until this point. That will be information he can now pass on to United.

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