Manchester United continue to chase Dan Ashworth – and Roy Keane has a big concern about the Newcastle United man.
Ineos want a new sporting director and Newcastle United’s Dan Ashworth has become the top target.
Ashworth wants to join United and Newcastle have now officially placed him on gardening leave ahead of a possible exit.
United still need to negotiate a compensation fee with the Magpies, and that could be somewhat troublesome.
Still, the expectation is that Ashworth ends up becoming United’s sporting director – and Roy Keane has a concern.
Roy Keane on Dan Ashworth
Speaking on The Overlap, Keane outlined his concern about Ashworth as United make their move.
Keane suggested that Ashworth ‘doesn’t hang around’ in terms of leaving jobs to further his carer.
Keane believes that loyalty doesn’t appear to be a priority for Ashworth as he already wants to leave Newcastle’s plans
The United hero fears that Ashworth may be given the top job at United and then look to leave for Real Madrid or Barcelona down the line, possible leaving United in the lurch.
“How long was he at Brighton for? How long was he at Newcastle for? Obviously, you’re on about getting the best for the job… he doesn’t hand around does he? I’m not sure loyalty is the top of his priorities.”
“When he left left Brighton for Newcastle, Newcastle at the time had big plans, all of a sudden Newcastle maybe are… obviously it was going to slow down eventually with a bit of success they’ve had over the last 12, 18 months and he’s now jumping into Manchester United? You have to look at all that side of a personality as well. No doubt he’s brilliant at his job, but who’s to say in a year-and-a-half he won’t want to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona?”
Sir Dave Brailsford could be the man to ease Keane fears
We can understand Keane’s fears here; none of us want to see Ashworth come in, make an impact and then leave after two years.
United need a long-lasting change and the one man who eases our concerns about Ashworth is Sir Dave Brailsford.
Ashworth and Brailsford have a long-standing relationship and that is ultimately the driving factor behind United’s interest.
Brailsford will take a key role in United’s football operations and his relationship with Ashworth was even on show at Newcastle.
Ashworth brought Brailsford in to speak to the Newcastle squad and Ashworth highlighted his friendship with Brailsford and his incredible influence.
“I’ve known Sir Dave for a number of years, working across various different sports and he is without doubt the best in world sport at creating high-performance culture and turning that into winning,” said Ashworth.
It’s clear that the connection between Ashworth and Brailsford is strong and we would hope that it is enough to keep Ashworth at Old Trafford for a long, long time.
Yes, Barcelona or Real Madrid may be intriguing to Ashworth if they come knocking on his door, but there aren’t many bigger jobs than United.
That, combined with Brailsford’s presence, should be enough to see Ashworth at United for years to come – if a deal can be thrashed out.
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