Newcastle United are still searching for their perfect Dan Ashworth replacement and have now been told to keep an eye on another Premier League director.
Ashworth left Newcastle last month to take up a role at Man United, though he has not yet been able to get out of his contract at St James’ Park with the club waiting to receive suitable compensation.
As for Newcastle, they want to bring in a strong replacement for Ashworth and have identified a few names, but speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Ben Jacobs now says the Brentford’s Phil Giles is one to ‘keep an eye on’.
Newcastle told to track new director
Giles’ name has been mentioned here and there in different reports but he’s not typically been a stand out name for Newcastle to replace Ashworth with in the last few weeks.
Other like Paul Mitchell and Tiago Pinto have been heavily linked and both are understood to be interested in the job, but Giles has something that neither of those will ever be able to boast.
The 48-year-old Brentford director is actually from Newcastle and grew up supporting the Geordies so of course would have their best intentions at heart, and that may be why he is the perfect candidate to take over from Ashworth.
Giles also has a brilliant track record at Brentford where he has had to deal with a limited budget and yet managed to not only get them promoted to the Premier League but keep them there for what will be four years if they avoid relegation.
On Giles, Jacobs said: “Newcastle are still searching for a new sporting director, and that is why there are a range of candidates.
“I think Phil Giles is the other name to keep an eye on. He is at Brentford, but he and his whole family are big Newcastle fans.
“When you look at the Newcastle recruitment, I think the clue is in Dan Ashworth. Newcastle went to Brighton, not only because their model is one of the best in the business, but it is a well-run club. Brighton know how to find young talent and, at times, work within financial constraints.
“Newcastle are a massive club. If they get Champions League qualification season-on-season, things might change. But, right now, the Newcastle model requires ambition and the ability to unearth talent while working on much more of a shoestring compared to some of the other big clubs contending for European football and the Champions League.”
Newcastle have some brilliant options to replace Ashworth
Everybody knows how big of a blow it was to lose Ashworth, especially to a side who Newcastle will be directly competing against in the coming years, but it’s not all doom and gloom in the North East.
Newcastle do have their pick of the bunch of directors given their exciting long-term project and the money that would be available to them eventually due to the wealth of the owners.
There are few people who would turn this down and, as previously mentioned, are already a number of top class candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring, so Giles will have some stiff competition if he wants this role.
But the bottom line is that Newcastle will be in safe hands no matter what – Amanda Staveley and her colleagues have up until this point done what is best for the club and that isn’t going to change soon.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
