Dan Ashworth: Manchester United price tag details revealed with one immediate transfer priority

Dan Ashworth has officially joined Manchester United as the club’s new sporting director after an agreement was reached with Newcastle United.

After a long saga that looked set to be concluded at an arbitration hearing, the clubs came to an agreement themselves this week, which sees Ashworth start work at Old Trafford immediately.

The 53-year-old will take charge of duties at United, with technical director Jason Wilcox alongside him. Omar Berrada will start his role as chief executive in two weeks’ time.

“Newcastle United and Manchester United have reached an agreement for the immediate release of Dan Ashworth from his contractual obligations at Newcastle United,” a club statement read.

“The terms of this agreement remain confidential between the clubs. Newcastle United thanks Dan for his services and wishes him well for the future.”

It has been reported by iPaperSport that while there is no direct indication about the fee United paid the Magpies, it is understood to be ‘significantly less’ than their demands of £20 million.

Information from Nigel B Golf on X, who has previously reported on the Ashworth deal, claims that the total package is around £6 million.

This lines up with a report from The Sun, which says that Newcastle accepted an offer of significantly less than £10 million for the 53-year-old.

Meanwhile, Ashworth will be aiming to get straight into business at Old Trafford, with the transfer window still in its early stages.

The aforementioned report from iPaperSport explains that United are now going to concentrate on pushing through a deal for top striker target Joshua Zirkzee.

The Bologna striker is viewed as the perfect fit to provide support for Rasmus Hojlund and has a £34 million release clause in his current contract.

It was claimed that talks are progressing, with United prepared to meet the Netherlands international’s release clause.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.