Newcastle United are finally set to appoint Dan Ashworth as their new Sporting Director.
After months of speculation and negotiations, the Magpies confirmed news of his imminent arrival on their official website on Monday.
In a statement, the club wrote that an agreement had been reached with Brighton to effectively end Ashworth’s notice period early. He’s been on gardening leave since resigning from his role with the Seagulls in February.
Newcastle add that the agreement in subject to Premier League approval, which is something we’ve had issues with in the past… However, the Chronicle report that the club are confident the Premier League will give the deal the green light.
It’s a landmark appointment for Newcastle. Ashworth looks like he can be a real gamechanger. But what do people outside the corridors of St James’ Park make of the deal?
Newcastle appointing Ashworth is the ‘most significant’ signing
The Athletic write that senior football figures believe bringing in Ashworth could be Newcastle’s ‘most significant’ deal of the summer. That’s a big statement, and one that may only prove to be true a few years down the line.
Multiple players should arrive at St James’ Park when the transfer window opens, and they will hopefully play an important role in guiding us higher up the Premier League table. The new boys will be heralded as heroes if they perform.
But Ashworth’s role will be behind the scenes, restructuring the club to help it achieve the lofty ambitions set by the owners.
The Athletic add that the 51-year-old’s goal will be to ‘transform’ Newcastle into an ‘elite sporting institution’.
He will oversee the entire project, ensuring everyone associated with the club is pulling in the right direction.
Ashworth will certainly ease Eddie Howe’s role when it comes to transfers. The Toon boss had been acting as manager and director of football during January, and was gearing up for a similar role this summer.
However, the Athletic state that the appointment of the sporting director will not massively alter Newcastle’s summer transfer plans.
It was previously reported that Ashworth wasn’t going to join the club until November, with Newcastle unable to agree compensation with Brighton.
But that major hurdle has been overcome, and he will soon get to work on transforming Newcastle United. No pressure…
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