What “glaring areas” Dan Ashworth must fix at Manchester United | OneFootball

Manchester United’s new sporting director Dan Ashworth will be tasked with changing the culture of recruitment at the club but manager Erik ten Hag will keep his veto over transfers.

United have been criticised for years for poor spending and overpaying in the transfer market, with Casemiro and Antony being prime recent examples.

The truth is though, the problem long predates Ten Hag and it has been an ongoing issue ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired over a decade ago.

The Athletic have explained what incoming director of football Ashworth will be made responsible for in his role, and he will certainly have his work cut out.

“Ashworth will now oversee every aspect of Manchester United’s football operations: from the academy to the women’s team, from the performance department to the medical staff,” the outlet claims.

“He is the point man for the new, INEOS-led era regarding all on-pitch matters and will report to incoming chief executive Omar Berrada.”

In fact, describing his own role at Brighton and Hove Albion in 2020 he claimed that it is his job to “sit in the middle of the wheel and on the outside of the wheel is the head of each department.”

Ineos have faced significant criticism already over their handling of the women’s team as key players such as Katie Zelem, Mary Earps and Lucia Garcia have already left. Moreover, instructing the women to relocate so the men can use their changing rooms during Carrington refurbishments has also gone down like a lead balloon.

Nonetheless, the announcement that United are now considering striking a deal so that the women use England’s St Georges Park as a temporary base could be seen as already a positive piece of work from Ashworth, who is only a matter of days into the job.

Ultimately though, his most public work will be that of transfers. “It is the most glaring area in need of improvement and something INEOS will be paying special attention towards” due to years of “profligate spending” under the Glazers.

One right he will need to wrong is the United tradition of paying over the odds for a high profile names and the accompanying wages instead of going for younger more unproven targets with potential.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already confirmed this is what they aim to do and perhaps the targeting of Joshua Zirkzee as the top striker transfer target is an example of this.

Ashworth will also have to break the so-called perceived “United tax” in which the Red Devils inevitably have to pay more than other teams for the same targets due to their reputation as a club that can be taken advantage of. The Jarrad Branthwaite deal this summer is seen as the litmus test of this concept, so it will be fascinating to see how that particular deal shakes out.

“That is a perception which has to change, one that will only be shed by adopting a harder line in negotiations and having the discipline to walk away from talks once they enter nosebleed territory,” The Athletic continues.

In essence, “better recruitment will require sustained systemic improvements, backed by strong leadership and conviction on strategy, which is where Ashworth comes in.”

Nonetheless, he will also need to find a balance with Erik ten Hag. It was understood that one sticking point of the manager’s new deal was the control he would have over signings but in his new deal, “Ten Hag retains a crucial veto on any incomings and no player will be signed without his agreement”.

United historically have given a lot of freedom to managers in terms of deciding targets and this has led to an almost Doctor Frankenstein bunch of players at times as different coaches have wanted different profiles of players.

Ineos and Manchester United will be hoping that this tightrope of interests can be successfully navigated as Ten Hag will have less power due to the new recruitment team of Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell who will act as director of recruitment.

The short and long term success of Manchester United depends on it.

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