Dan Ashworth to exit Man Utd as sporting director

Dan Ashworth has left his position as sporting director at Manchester United after just five months, the club confirmed on Sunday.

Ashworth officially arrived in July after a settlement — running into millions of pounds — was reached with former club Newcastle United.

The 53-year-old was seen as a key part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s revamp at Old Trafford along with technical director Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada. But he has departed after overseeing just one transfer window and less than a month after the arrival of new head coach Ruben Amorim.

“Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement. We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future,” United said in a statement.

Sources have told ESPN that Ashworth’s move to Old Trafford has not worked out and a decision has been taken to part company. He was at Old Trafford for the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

United sources have told ESPN that the decision was “difficult” but “made collaboratively.”

Ashworth — along with Berrada and Wilcox — was central to the process behind selecting a successor to Ten Hag which eventually saw Amorim appointed from Sporting CP.

Ashworth oversaw the arrival of five major signings in the summer, with Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee arriving for combined fees of more than £180 million ($229.3m).

Defeat to Forest left United 13th in the Premier League table with 19 points — their lowest tally after 15 games since 1986. They face FC Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.