While it’s not the £7 billion takeover they were hoping for, the fact that Sir Jim Ratcliffe would be in control of football matters should be viewed positively by Manchester United fans when they finally move out from under the Glazers.
From the standpoint of Newcastle United, Sir Jim is a major fan of Newcastle’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth, and may try to entice the former Brighton man to the dark side, well, Old Trafford.
According to inews, Newcastle would vehemently oppose any move for Ashworth since he is a crucial figure behind the scenes at the club, having been praised as the ‘perfect’ candidate for the role when he joined last year.
It is also anticipated that Ashworth will not want to leave Newcastle so early in the project that he is leading.
Ashworth joined Newcastle in July of last year, and it is his aim to ensure that the club works consistently at all levels, allowing young talent to develop into first-team players without ever feeling out of place.
In addition, Ashworth is in charge of discovering new talent from around the world and bringing it to Newcastle. He’s made a great start by bringing in players like Garang Kuol (who, to be fair, is suffering a little), Harrison Ashby, Alex Murphy, and Yankuba Minteh, all of whom are already banging on the first-team door.
Should Ratcliffe’s buy-in go through, which it’s believed it will, he will have to look elsewhere for a sporting director because he’s certainly not taking Wor Dan.
