Man Utd exit blamed on huge double transfer error and Sir Jim Ratcliffe left ‘furious’

Two new theories have emerged as to why Manchester United decided to part ways with sporting director Dan Ashworth, with anger over two of their summer signings and a row over Erik ten Hag now being blamed and leaving Sir Jim Ratcliffe “furious” .

It emerged on Sunday morning that Ashworth would be leaving Old Trafford less than five months after Newcastle were paid around £3m in compensation to bring him from Newcastle. Having first been identified by minority shareholder Ratcliffe in December last year and given a key role in both recruitment and management decisions at Old Trafford, his departure came as a huge shock to everyone associated with manchester united.

At the time of his departure, United published a fairly concise 41-word message announcing his farewell. However, several observers have expressed their anger and several theories have since emerged, including a dispute over the future of former coach Erik ten Hag.

Gary Neville is among those who were quick to criticize United for the decision and the timing of it..

However, two new suggestions as to why Ashworth left so soon have now surfaced, with the signings of Dutch duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt, who failed to hit the ground running at Old Trafford and are already seen as big guns. blunders, now being blamed.

By ESPNAshworth played a key role in both deals this summer. Firstly, De Ligt was reportedly signed in a £42.9million move from Bayern Munich and Ashworth was keen to show his backing for Ten Hag, who was interested in reuniting with his former Ajax charge.

Meanwhile, Zirkzee is said to have been identified by Ashworth’s exploration team based on data analysis. The Dutch striker, however, has only scored three goals in 21 appearances so far after joining from Bologna for £36.5m.

In other places, the daily mail claims Ashworth paid the price for breaking ties with the club’s decision to remain loyal to Ten Hag. And they claim Ratcliffe was left “furious” by Ashworth’s claim that he had nothing to do with keeping the Dutchman in charge over the summer.

However, the fact that Ashworth had made public his faith in Dutchman in September weakened his argument that he had nothing to do with the decision to extend his stay.

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However, regardless of how the club made the decision, it does not reflect well and leaves their fans up in arms over Ratcliffe’s management of the club, first with Ten Hag and now Ashworth They split just weeks apart and just months after signing major contracts.

While it is yet to be revealed how big Ashworth’s reward will be, it is substantial given he was only more than five months into his contract at Old Trafford.

The saga has also been criticized by Sky Sports’ senior reporter. Melissa Reddywho wrote: “Major questions will be raised over INEOS’ direction of football operations at Manchester United following Dan Ashworth’s departure from the club after just five months as sporting director.”

“The latest surprise at Old Trafford, following the decision to keep Erik ten Hag, back him heavily in the summer window and then sack him 13 games into the season, will be another costly exercise.

“United paid between £2 and £3 million in compensation to Newcastle to secure Ashworth, who they waited longer than he was actually in the job, and his departure will come at an additional cost.”

‘Amid mass redundancies and rising ticket prices, there is a growing feeling that ordinary people are paying for the mistakes of the hierarchy – first the Glazers and now under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

‘Ashworth’s appointment was seen as the ‘best in class’ approach that would underpin United’s new structure.

‘Although sources insist there were no major differences but rather an agreement that the setup was not working well, it is another embarrassing sight for INEOS’ decision-making.

“They will counter that Ten Hag and Ashworth have been willing to back someone, but have shown a decisive advantage when it is clear that change is necessary.”

More theories on Ashworth’s departure as Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano weigh in

Journalist David Ornstein has suggested that one factor behind Ashworth’s departure was the executive. Disagree with the choice of Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s replacement..

A later update of talkSPORT he directly made that statementwith Alex Crook stating: “Understand that Ashworth felt left out of big decisions, almost from day one with (CEO, Omar) Berrada and (Sir Dave) Brailsford calling the shots.

“The turning point was the appointment of Amorim. He (Ashworth) favored a British coach, i.e. (Gareth) Southgate. “I was also told there was a personality clash (between Ashworth and Berrada).”

TEAMtalk sources had confirmed to us at the time of Ten Hag’s dismissal that Ashworth was very much in agreement with the appointment of an English coach.

Fabrizio Romano also weighed in on the situation, stating Ratcliffe “wasn’t happy at all” with Ashworth’s management of the summer.

While not explicitly stated, the inference is that Ratcliffe has not looked favorably on Ashworth’s management in the previous transfer window.

This is a view that seems supported by Ratcliffe’s comments when speaking to the United we are fanzine on Saturday.

“Manchester United must have the best signing in the world,” Ratcliffe said.

“You can’t just flip a light switch and order recruitment. “It’s about people and we need to find the right ones.”

Dan Ashworth’s five signings at Man Utd