Man Utd chief Dan Ashworth gets his revenge on Newcastle after bitter spat with ex-club

It seems that Dan Ashworth hasn’t forgotten being made to wait to take up the role of sporting director at Manchester United, and now he’s making his former club pay. After just two years at Newcastle, it emerged in February that the 53-year-old had agreed a move to Old Trafford, but the north-east club refused to play ball.

Instead of granting him his release, Ashworth was placed on a period of gardening leave and therefore, unable to work at either club.

Eventually, the two parties agreed a compensation package of around £3million, with Ashworth allowed to officially leave Newcastle and take up his new post in July.

It meant a conclusion to what turned into an ugly saga, with Ashworth reportedly trying to negotiate his initial offer in secret. However, he was said to have inadvertently sent a copy of an e-mail, later sent to United chief executive Omar Berrada, to his own Newcastle-based e-mail address which was then discovered by club staff.

But now, the tables have well and truly turned. According to the Daily Mail, United’s Lead Academy analyst Luke Dickson has now requested to leave the INEOS regime and take up a senior position under Eddie Howe.

However, Ashworth and co are now set to exact revenge. The 28-year-old is seemingly being made to complete his own period of gardening leave, and will not be able to head to St James’ Park until sometime in November.

Despite the inevitable frustration, Newcastle are unlikely to push for a U-turn given their own stance earlier this year. And Dickson, who previously worked at Hibernian and Leicester City, will now not receive a pay-off.

Because he has opted to exit the club of his own accord, he has appeared to wave the right to any compensation. Dickson has been at the club since 2019, initially serving as their Under-18 manager before being handed a new role three years later.

The development comes in a week when United appear in the midst of a club overhaul following the sacking of Erik ten Hag. Sporting manager Ruben Amorim has agreed a deal to take charge, with the two clubs still negotiating the exact terms of his move.

While the 39-year-old will not have to take any period of gardening leave, his release clause with his current club does include a 30-day notice period. So as it stands he will not be able to take over at the Premier League club until late November at the earliest.

It remains to be seen how many of his background staff Amorim will try and take with him to Manchester. In the meantime, Dickson will be made to watch from afar while Ruud van Nistlerooy takes temporary charge.