New ‘signing’ Ashworth will save United a LOT of money

AS a former football club owner, the idea of paying up to £20million in compensation for a sporting director is not a particularly palatable one, but in the modern game it seems like a fair price.

I understand why Manchester United want to hire Dan Ashworth, as the cost implication of players is so high now that it makes sense to employ someone to oversee that part of your business.

There are so many moving parts in securing the transfer of a player, so you need someone accountable and responsible for overseeing the whole operation.

United have spent around £1.6billion on players over the last decade.

Much has been wasted, but it shows how heavily big clubs are prepared to spend in pursuit of success. So why wouldn’t you want the best in class making those decisions?

Unfortunately for Newcastle, as soon as you start doing something well, others at bigger, more powerful clubs take your assets and undermine what you’ve created.

It’s the same for Brighton, who are losing their head of recruitment to Chelsea. It makes perfect sense for owner Todd Boehly.

Rather than pay over the odds for Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella, why not just get the man who brought those players to English football for peanuts?

This is a different ball game for Ashworth now though, with a different set of expectations and pressures compared to previous roles at Brighton, West Brom, Newcastle and even England.

He faces a big task, but United clearly feel he is worth the expense. He will be responsible for breaking up the current squad, securing value from unwanted stars, bringing in new players and overseeing a huge wage bill.

Let’s not forget he will also be responsible for recruiting United’s next manager if and when they decide Erik ten Hag is not the man to bring back the glory years.

So while £20m is a big fee, it feels about right when you consider the job description.

Owners are more remote from the team than the days when I was involved. For nation states, billionaires and hedge funds, clubs are no longer their core proposition, so they want people in positions of influence to take away their problems.

Jim Ratcliffe has enough problems and doesn’t want United adding to them. He wants solutions, which is why he has turned to Ashworth.

Eventually, he is going to save the club a lot more money than whatever compensation they agree with Newcastle.