Manchester United warned about Dan Ashworth downside by Premier League legend

Manchester United have been warned about a potential downside to the appointment of Dan Ashworth in relation to Erik ten Hag’s influence at the club.

Manchester United are looking to appoint Dan Ashworth as their inaugural sporting director at Old Trafford as INEOS continues to make changes after Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s 25 per cent acquisition of the club.

Ashworth has vast experience working in an executive capacity at Premier League-level clubs, having previously held positions at West Brom, Brighton, and most recently, Newcastle United, having also held the position of technical director for the England national team.

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However, former Premier League striker John Barnes has stated he believes that there could be a problem with Ashworth as he may not be able to work in the same capacity as he has at his previous clubs due to potential influence from Erik ten Hag.

“I don’t know how much influence Ashworth will have at the club,” Barnes told BonusCodeBets.

“Arteta, Klopp and Guardiola decide who to bring in in terms of players, but United may decide to do things differently and give Ashworth and his team the scope to have an influence on which players come into the club.

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“United may decide to alleviate pressure from ten Hag in terms of letting him get on with the coaching of the players and allow Ashworth to work on the bigger structural aspects of United, which he’s done at Brighton and West Brom.”

“The issue is that at clubs such as Brighton and West Brom, the managers may have allowed the Director of Football/Sporting Director to have that influence. Would ten Hag allow that, or would he want to be the main man?”

Manchester United have encountered significant issues in appointing Ashworth, as Newcastle United are demanding £20 million for his services.

The Tyneside club have now placed Ashworth on two years of gardening leave, with the new clubs now needing to come to an agreement on a compensation fee before he is let go.