Dan Ashworth once described Sir Dave Brailsford as ‘without doubt the best in the world’ with the departing Newcastle director lined up to work with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s right-hand man at Premier League giants Manchester United.
During an ongoing saga which has clearly rumbled on for a lot longer than Ratcliffe would have liked – the new Manchester United co-owner aiming a not-so-subtle dig in Newcastle’s ribs last week – a lot has been made of how highly Brailsford rates Dan Ashworth.
According to the iNews – when the reports first emerged in mid-December – the former Brighton and Football Association chief is Brailsford’s ‘dream’ appointment, Man United settling on the 52-year-old in their pursuit of a first-ever sporting director.
The Athletic, however, are approaching the story from a different perspective. The admiration Brailsford has for Ashworth, it seems, is very much mutual. Less a cul-de-sac, and more of a two-way street.
Manchester United still want Dan Ashworth
“I’ve known Sir Dave for years, working across different sports,” Ashworth said back in 2022 after inviting a man who’s legendary ‘marginal gains’ approach turned Britain into a dominant force in world cycling to speak to Newcastle’s player and staff.
“(Brailsford) is, without doubt, the best in the world at creating a high-performance culture and turning that into winning.”
Every single word of Ashworth’s rather glowing assessment will be sweet music to the ears of a Man United fanbase who have been forced to accept mediocrity for far too long.
Two months since Ineos’ minority investment was finally confirmed by the Red Devils, Brailsford and Ratcliffe have wasted barely a second putting their stamp on things, transforming the club’s rusted and decaying structure with a couple of genuine, best-in-class appointments.
Ashworth would be the continuation of that trend, joining former Man City chief Omar Berrada and Jean-Claude Blanc, the brains behind the recent success at Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. United’s new decision-makers are reportedly pursuing Southampton director Jason Wilcox too, as well as former Liverpool recruitment specialist Julian Ward.
Brailsford and Ratcliffe leading Red Devils revolution
“If I had my choice to take a sporting director it would have been him,” legendary United defender Rio Ferdinand tells Vibe with Five of Ashworth, who is on gardening leave as the Red Devils negotiate a compensation fee with Newcastle.
“I think he’s the best. He’s so calm, he’s so sure on what he’s doing. He is so focused, he’s diligent, he knows the market.
“He’s not swayed. I don’t think he gets bullied by agents, stuff like that. He knows the market value of players. He ain’t getting told this player’s worth 50 but for you it’s 75. It ain’t happening, we’ll just move on to other targets then.”
Interestingly, Ashworth is also a big admirer of the Man United-linked Crystal Palace centre-half Marc Guehi.
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