Dan Ashworth may not have to wait too long before returning to football after being sacked as Manchester United’s first sporting director after just five months in the job.
Ashworth appears to have been one of the first casualties of a new Old Trafford regime finding its feet and new senior bosses figuring out ways to work together.
But even if his The ideas and methods did not seem to sit well with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the thinking of CEO Omar Berrada, which begs the question of why this was not picked up during a due diligence process, still has considerable reputation.
Ashworth began to stand out at West Bromwich Albion, before being sought by the FA to work alongside the England selections. Their time there coincided Gareth Southgate breaking years of underperformance to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, before equally impressive work to improve the sport at Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United.
So even with one failed date under her belt, Ashworth isn’t expected to lack interest.
already ESPN notes that Arsenal have added his name to a “list of possible candidates”.
The Gunners are currently without a sporting director due to the recent departure of Edu, equally shocking but for completely different reasons as he prepares to take on a new, more lucrative and far-reaching job with Nottingham Forest’s multi-club ownership group.
Adding fuel to the links is the previous relationship with Ashworth arsenal managing director Richard Garlick. The pair worked together at West Brom just over a decade ago, with Garlick eventually succeeding Ashworth as sporting and technical director at The Hawthorns.
Arsenal were shocked when Edu informed the club of his decision to leave, meaning there was no succession planning. However, the expectation that the January transfer window will not be a busy month means there is no urgent rush to find a replacement, allowing the Gunners a little more time to carefully assess their options.
Edu is on gardening leave until the end of the season, but it is unclear if Ashworth is available now or if he is subject to any severance agreement that would prevent him from taking a new job immediately.
