Mark Ogden reveals which Dan Ashworth signing Manchester United “didn’t want”, it’s not Manuel Ugarte

ESPN correspondent Mark Ogden has revealed that Manchester United did not want to sign one of Dan Ashworth’s 2024 summer purchases.

Manchester United’s 2024 summer transfer window has come under scrutiny after the five players signed have so far suffered mixed fortunes at Old Trafford.

United recruited Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte, strengthening in four key areas of Erik ten Hag’s squad.

However, with the Dutchman sacked just months into his third season at United, he was replaced by Rúben Amorim, with the club also choosing to let former sporting director Dan Ashworth go just 159 days after he took the role in the summer.

While Mazraoui and Yoro have started life well at United and De Ligt has been, for the most part, solid, the jury remains out on Ugarte and Zirkzee.

United didn’t want one Ashworth signing

Ashworth was brought in from Newcastle with United paying a fee to make sure he could start at his new club and forego a lot of his gardening leave, but having sacked him just months later, the whole ordeal saw United pay a total of £4.1 million for his time at Old Trafford.

Speaking to ESPN, journalist Mark Ogden has now revealed that United did not want to sign one of their five 2024 signing, but it was pushed by Ashworth who wanted to show faith in Ten Hag.

“There are two ways to look at the Ashworth situation, I mean, my view is that they hired the wrong guy for the wrong job,” said Ogden.

“Dan Ashworth is known for building the structure of a club, building behind the scenes and getting the right people in place. What he isn’t is a sporting director. He’s not a guy who will pick up the phone to people in Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey to find a player or to offload a player.

“If you want somebody like that, you go for Aston Villa’s Monchi, he’s somebody who has a real track record of doing it over the years. It’s a different role.

“The club didn’t want Matthijs de Ligt. He was a signing that was driven through by Ten Hag, and despite the fact they felt well-stocked with centre-halves, United or Ashworth felt that because they’d just given Ten Hag a new contract they have to show they have faith in him by signing a player he wanted, so you can say that was a weakness on Dan Ashworth’s part.”

De Ligt’s under fire from all angles

There was a period where many thought De Ligt could become a success at the club, but so far under Amorim, his form has been in flux, much like the rest of the United squad.

Read More: Antony hit with transfer blow after confirmation European giant ‘don’t want him’

While he is the epitome of a United defender with respect to playing for the badge, putting his body on the line, and looking like a real leader at the back, some such as former Arsenal man Martin Keown feel De Ligt creates more issues than he solves at Old Trafford.

“I look at De Ligt, the amount of money they spent on him by the way is almost obscene for a centre-half,” Keown recently said on talkSPORT.

“He’s playing like a robot. There’s times he can clear the ball and he puts it out for a corner. He just creates issues for the team.

“Ruben Amorim needs to empower him with confidence, I’m not seeing any of that with him.”

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