Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim insists Dan Ashworth’s exit from Old Trafford has ‘changed nothing’. The Red Devils announced the surprise departure of their sporting director just five months after prising him away from Premier League rivals Newcastle.
United worked tirelessly to acquire Ashworth as part of their new-look sporting structure during the summer. His abrupt exit therefore came as a shock.
It has been claimed that Ashworth had reservations over the appointment of Amorim. According to The Athletic, the 53-year-old former FA technical director had put forward several English coaches to replace Erik ten Hag, including Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and Gareth Southgate. Marco Silva and Thomas Frank were other names reportedly suggested by Ashworth.
Amorim says he felt support from Ashworth but revealed that his exit will not change how club's the sporting department operates.
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“One person leaving doesn't change nothing,” Amorim said. However, he then admitted that it was a “bad situation”.
The Portuguese coach added: "Since the first day I felt great support from the ownership, from Omar (Berrada) and Jason (Wilcox), and I was part of them. I felt real support from Dan also. This is football and sometimes these things happen."
United announced that they had parted company with Ashworth in a brief statement on their website. It read: “Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as sporting director of Manchester United by mutual agreement. We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.”
United icon Gary Neville - who worked with Ashworth at the FA - slammed the statement as “very poor”. The former right-back said: “I’m really shocked that this has happened and it’s not a great look at all, it’s something that’s going to need a lot of explaining. I think the statement that the club have put out is really poor.
“Manchester United haven’t had a voice for 10 years; they’ve lost their authority, they’ve lost their boldness. I think they’ve been getting it back a little bit in the last 12 months but what’s really clear is that there is a fracture here – something has happened.
“You can’t bring somebody in of the level of Dan Ashworth and then lose him after five months, and think that something hasn’t gone wrong. Fans are now going to be asking the question, ‘What’s gone wrong?’”
