Dan Ashworth ‘will be unveiled in new role this week’ – five months on from brutal Manchester United sacking

• Dan Ashworth was sacked as Man United sporting director after 159 days
• Sir Jim Ratcliffe said it was a mistake to hire him and he ‘lacked chemistry’ 
• LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why Liverpool fans must not let Trent Alexander-Arnold row spoil their title party 

By WILL GRIFFEE

Dan Ashworth ‘will be unveiled in a new role with the FA’ having been brutally dismissed by Manchester United at the end of last year. 

Ashworth, 54, was ruthlessly sacked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos just 159 days into his tenure as sporting director in December.

Manchester United poached Ashworth from Newcastle last February but were forced to wait for the sporting director to finish his gardening leave before joining the team at Old Trafford.

But months later, he was dismissed from his post and Ratcliffe later admitted it was a mistake to hire him, paying £4.1million for the five months at the club including his severance package.

In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Neville, he said: ‘I agree the Erik ten Tag and Dan Ashworth decisions were errors. 

‘I accept that and I apologise for that,’ said Ratcliffe, who claimed Ashworth lacked ‘chemistry’ with the rest of the leadership team.

Dan Ashworth ‘has agreed a new role’ months after his abrupt exit from Man United

The sporting director was brutally sacked by Manchester United after just 159 days in the post, having been poached initially from Newcastle (Pictured: Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe)

Ashworth is set to return to the FA and will oversee the governing body’s new ‘St George’s Park 2.0 project’

Now, Ashworth is taking up a role at the FA, the organisation he departed in 2018. 

He will become director of football operations this week, according to the Telegraph. 

Ashworth is reported to have huge decision making power, will control a ‘radical refurbishment’ of St George’s Park and oversee the England men’s and women’s senior and junior teams.

The FA are said to be delighted with the impending appointment and Ashworth helped deliver plenty of success last time he was in situ at the governing body. 

The Under-17s and Under-20s were world champions in 2017 and the Under-19s also became European champions the same year. 

Ashworth left the FA to become Brighton’s technical director before Newcastle took him as sporting director within a year. 

He then departed the Magpies, a decision he is reportedly privately admitted to regretting, to become part of INEOS’ new-look team in the football department of United. 

That sorry chapter came to a close after 159 days, which was especially embarrassing for everyone involved given the lengths United went to, to extricate him from Newcastle. 

Ashworth will now go about re-building his reputation with his work at the FA following a tumultuous couple of years. 

Gary NevilleJim Ratcliffe

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Dan Ashworth ‘will be unveiled in new role this week’ – five months on from brutal Manchester United sacking

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