Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth showed a “weakness” over his decision to allow one signing to be made at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag.
That is according to ESPN reporter Mark Ogden, who claimed that Dan Ashworth felt that he had to put “faith” in former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.
Ashworth had been a key target for Ineos’ behind-the-scenes changes at Old Trafford after Sir Jim Ratcliffe captured a minority stake in the club in 2023.
The 53-year-old finally arrived at United last summer after he had previously been placed on gardening leave at Newcastle in 2024.
However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos were left red-faced after it was announced last December that Ashworth would be stepping down from his role at Old Trafford.
Ashworth’s reign as sporting director at United lasted only five months and had come only two months after Ten Hag was sacked as Red Devils manager.
Ogden talks Ashworth and Man Utd role
Dan Ashworth saw his stock value rise after he was credited for his work as sporting director at Newcastle and as a technical director at West Brom and Brighton.
However, the former West Brom and Brighton technical director endured an ill-fated spell at Old Trafford and did not live up to the hype surrounding his name.
Mark Ogden has now claimed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos made the “wrong” call to hire the “wrong” person for the role of Manchester United sporting director.
Speaking on ESPN, he said: “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.
“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.”
Ashworth and Man Utd on Ten Hag signing
Erik ten Hag’s future at United had been in doubt at the end of last season, despite leading the Red Devils to the FA Cup trophy at Wembley last May.
United finished eighth in the Premier League table in the 2023-24 campaign under Ten Hag and Ineos launched an end-of-season review in 2024.
Despite being linked with other managers, including England boss Thomas Tuchel, Ineos eventually opted to retain Ten Hag and handed the Dutchman a new deal.
United reinforced significantly last summer with a first-team squad overhaul for Ten Hag, including the arrival of several major signings at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils agreed a deal worth nearly £60m to sign Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from German side Bayern Munich last August.
According to Ogden, United and Ashworth were not keen on bringing defender Matthijs de Ligt, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax, to Old Trafford in 2024.
“The club didn’t want Matthijs de Ligt,” he said.
“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 Ashoworth’s part.”
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