'Really easy' - Man Utd told Dan Ashworth fix after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's £2m Newcastle United complaint
Simon Jordan has told Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘a really easy fix’ to secure Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United.
Ashworth has been on gardening leave from his sporting director position at Newcastle since February following an approach from Manchester United. But almost five months on, the clubs are yet to come to a settlement over a compensation fee to release Ashworth from his contract at St James’ Park.
Ashworth’s notice period in his Newcastle contract runs until the end of 2025, preventing him from working at another club unless a compensation fee can be agreed. So far Manchester United have been unwilling to pay more than £2million to Newcastle to release the sporting director.
Ratcliffe has publicly hit out at Newcastle for their stance in negotiations regarding Ashworth.
"I see absolutely no point in the gardening leave thing that they have in football,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg. “It just makes it difficult to change things with pace because Omar [Berrada] is on six months, Dan Ashworth is on one-and-a-half years.
“Newcastle are just being very difficult and very awkward about Dan. Until you get the people in, it's quite difficult to drive the change and it's just frustrating.”
But talkSPORT co-presenter and former Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan, has backed Newcastle’s stance.
He said during via talkSPORT: “I think Newcastle are well within their rights to say: 'No, I don't think so, we've invested in this person, we had the vision, you've seen the vision now that it's arrived.'
“If you want Dan Ashworth it's a really easy fix, Jim. Write a cheque out.”
Jordan added: “He probably thinks the lure and the lustre and the power and the influence and the stature of Man United should mean that Newcastle should be quaking in their boots and deliver up Dan Ashworth lickety-split without any complications. They don't want to, and fair play to them.”
With Ashworth unable to work for Newcastle and unable to join Manchester United as things stand, the 53-year-old is reportedly taking Newcastle to arbitration in an attempt to force through a move to Man United.