On Valentine’s Day seventeen days prior, there were rumors in the media that Manchester United had approached Dan Ashworth about taking on the position of Sporting Director, or a title akin to it, after Sir Jim Ratcliffe received permission from the Premier League to become a minority shareholder.
Things moved quickly, and on February 19, 2024, 12 days ago, Newcastle United made a formal announcement (see below) stating that Ashworth had been placed on gardening leave in preparation for joining a new team. Though not mentioned in the official announcement, Man U is undoubtedly.
Up until this “exclusive,” everything on the Dan Ashworth subject had been quite quiet.
Report from The Sun, March 1, 2024:
As pressure mounts on Ten Hag, Dan Ashworth, the new sporting director of Manchester United, meets in private with Graham Potter.
Graham Potter and Dan Ashworth, Manchester United’s incoming sporting director, met as pressure on Erik ten Hag mounts.
If Ten Hag is fired by the new Red Devils part-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his aide Sir David Brailsford favor former Chelsea manager Potter to take over as Old Trafford manager.
It’s believed that Ashworth and Potter, who collaborated closely at Brighton, got together over the weekend.
Ratcliffe attempted to convince the former Brighton manager, of whom he is a huge fan, to oversee Nice’s French team.
Omar Berrada, a new CEO that Ratcliffe hired, was taken from nearby City.
He is now focusing on Ashworth, who Newcastle put on gardening leave. United is attempting to work out a compensation arrangement with the Magpies, who are asking twice the £10 million that was given.
This “exclusive” is utterly absurd.
It is quite unlikely, in my opinion, that Dan Ashworth met Graham Potter in private in order to discuss taking over as manager of Man U instead of Ten Hag.
But if this encounter really did occur, Dan Ashworth meeting Graham Potter wouldn’t be the major “exclusive.”
It would be the fact that, having violated the conditions of his gardening leave contract, Dan Ashworth (and most likely Manchester United) would be in big trouble!
In fact, the report itself states that Dan Ashworth is still on gardening leave, as you can see above. At least this narrative would have made sense if they had stated in the same report that Ashworth’s gardening leave had finished and that Newcastle United and Manchester United had agreed to compensate. Even if you didn’t think it had much real truth…
But Neil Custis, a Newcastle United supporter and journalist for The Sun, who wrote this so-called “exclusive,” obviously has no idea what gardening leave is. Otherwise, that would have been the “exclusive,” with Dan Ashworth and Manchester United facing major consequences for violating the terms of his contract, which forced him to take a gardening leave.
Dan Ashworth is still employed by Newcastle United and is paid by NUFC. According to the terms of his Newcastle United contract, he is not permitted to work for another football club until his gardening leave expires or until Man U pays Newcastle United a reasonable amount of additional compensation.
It begs the question of what the writer genuinely believes gardening leave to be, as well as the opinions of the other writers and media who have mindlessly reproduced this Sun “exclusive.”
What is breaking Dan Ashworth’s Newcastle United contract and gardening leave rules if he isn’t breaking them by meeting to discuss taking the Man U manager’s job? Ashworth is completely prohibited from doing this kind of job for any other football team or company without the express consent of Newcastle United.
Official announcement from Newcastle United, February 19, 2024:
The announcement has been made by Newcastle United that Dan Ashworth has started a gardening leave.
“We are naturally disappointed that Dan has chosen to leave, but our exciting journey doesn’t stop and the process to recruit a new sporting director will begin immediately,” stated Darren Eales, CEO of Newcastle United.
“We appreciate Dan’s efforts at Newcastle United and send our best wishes for the future to him and his family.”
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