MANCHESTER UNITED have ditched the role of sporting director after their failed Dan Ashworth experiment.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe axed Ashworth following Saturday’s 3-2 home loss to Nottingham Forest.
Ashworth, now a target for Prem rivals Arsenal, was United’s first ever sporting director.
But he is gone after just five months — with the post consigned to history.
Red Devils part-owner Ratcliffe decided that his Ineos right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, United chief exec Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will share the responsibilities of the position.
Ashworth, 53, was forced out of Old Trafford after losing a power battle with ex-City executive Berrada.
The pair had a huge fall-out over how the club should move forward in a bid to get back to the top of English football.
But Ashworth, who worked at Newcastle, Brighton, West Brom and the FA, could be offered a swift return.
Arsenal are assessing options to replace Edu as sporting director at the Emirates and Ashworth’s unexpected availability has caught their eye.
Ashworth has a close relationship with Gunners managing director Richard Garlick, who is leading the search to land a new sporting director.
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THE blame game has another victim as things go from bad to worse at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s first sporting director, Dan Ashworth, arrived in the summer and is gone before Christmas.
SunSport exclusively revealed last month that there was trouble at mill.
That the new senior management team were already blaming each other for the mess the club were in.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and Ashworth were trying to wash their hands of it all, claiming they had arrived too late after serving their gardening leave.
New part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said making decisions was all down to them. Meanwhile, Jason Wilcox thought it was all a mess under previous boss Erik ten Hag but was part of the team that encouraged him to stay after every other candidate ran for cover.
There is word Ashworth did not favour appointing his successor and new head coach Ruben Amorim, preferring an English manager with more experience in our game. Perhaps that was why ex-England gaffer Gareth Southgate’s name was always mentioned after they worked together at the FA.
Either way, Saturday’s showing against Nottingham Forest, after their second-half capitulation at Arsenal a few days previously, proved too much.
The pair worked together at West Brom for three years.
Garlick was legal director at The Hawthorns and worked under Ashworth before replacing him as the club’s sporting director when he left to join the FA in 2013.
Everton are also monitoring Ashworth as they wait for The Friedkin Group to complete a takeover.
The club’s prospective new owners are in the process of conducting a structural review, which will lead to new appointments including a chief executive and technical director.
SunSport can reveal Ashworth’s axe will also open the door to further cuts at United.
Ashworth fought against too many cutbacks despite Ratcliffe wanting more.
In total, 250 staff have been made redundant.
But that is not the end as Carrington is set to be targeted again — with the academy and women’s footballing section likely to be streamlined.
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