BBC Presenter Mark Chapman was left speechless after what David Ornstein shared about Dan Ashworth’s current situation at Newcastle United.
Newcastle are not very happy with the fact that they are losing Ashworth to a direct rival and are doing all they can to maximise their profits or keep the director out of work.
Speaking on The Monday Night Club, Ornstein shared how Newcastle could keep Ashworth on gardening leave until January 2026 if Man United are unwilling to pay the £20m compensation fee.
Newcastle hold all the power in Ashworth debacle
It’s not what Newcastle would have wanted as they had big plans for Ashworth to lead the club into this new era under the Saudi-backed ownership, but they always knew they’d be well protected if something like this happened.
Ashworth is regarded as one of the best in the country in his field which is why Newcastle had so desperately wanted him in the first place, so to lose him would certainly be a blow.
However, as Ornstein explains, Newcastle hold all the power as they can prevent the 52-year-old from working at Old Trafford until January 2026 should they want to.
Chapman couldn’t believe what he was hearing as we’ve never really seen this kind of transfer saga involving a behind the scenes figure before, so this could soon set a new precedent in football.
On the show, Ornstein said: “We don’t know for certain. I don’t know exactly what it stipulates in his contract but it’s going to be a long time unless an agreement is reached.
“Consensus seems to be that it will go into 2025 and the longest it might be would see him back working in January 2026. That’s the kind of power Newcastle have in this situation and that’s why they are setting the compensation expectations high.”
Chapman responded with: “Wow.”
Newcastle will be fine with a new director
With the extraordinary fee that is being quoted for Ashworth’s move to Man United you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was the most incredible thing to happen to football since Pele.
In reality, he is very good at his job and has proved that in the past with some of the work he did with West Bromwhich Albion, England and Brighton, though we’ve yet to see what he could have done with Newcastle.
That said, £20m is an unbelievable fee to receive for a Sporting Director and could massively help Newcastle this summer as they look to make some big changes to the first team.
A significant addition to the transfer budget and a new director, who will likely still be one of the top figures in Europe, is definitely not a devastating blow to Newcastle as some would have you think.
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