Brighton’s Dan Ashworth is the latest name linked with Newcastle’s director of football vacancy.
According to the Athletic, the Magpies have been given permission to speak to Ashworth by the Seagulls, who have contingency plans in place to replace any senior staff..
Ashworth has been Brighton’s technical director since early 2019, working closely with Graham Potter, and also worked with England at the 2018 World Cup.
On TalkSport, pundit Simon Jordan has had his say on the links.
“Given the amount of football knowledge in Newcastle’s boardroom could currently fill a thimble, anybody in there who has football knowledge would help.
“Dan Ashworth? I have mixed feelings. There are a group of individuals in the FA who caught a wave and got a reputation on the back of it.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not capable of doing the job but the fact that Brighton are happy for Newcastle to wade in doesn’t indicate they’re too upset.
“Didn’t he go to West Brom as well? How did that work out? It’s one thing being in the comfort of the FA to going to Newcastle. It’s sensible because he knows the football landscape and if they believe they’re the right people in their boardroom then that’s fine.”
“I don’t imagine Ashworth considers himself to be a stopgap but if he gets dropkicked out when someone better comes along, what does that do for him?
“It’s very interesting that the framework of their foundation is English people but I’m not sure how that translates to signing players from abroad?”
Jordan is cynical about Ashworth as if he hasn’t done the business at Brighton and West Brom.
If Newcastle get to the point where Brighton are; a stable Premier League club with a defined, attractive style of play, that would be a good staging post on the long-term journey to where they want to be.
Ashworth can help with that if he gets over the line but it will be interesting to see if there any concrete developments between now and when the January transfer window opens.
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