Revealed: Why the £3m Man Utd spent on bringing Dan Ashworth in from Newcastle is viewed as 'money well spent' as sporting director makes strong start

Ashworth eventually swapped Newcastle for United in July after the two clubs agreed a deal. The 53-year-old spent five months on gardening leave before finally taking up his position at Old Trafford after the Red Devils shelled out a £3m ($3.9m) for his services. United already consider it "money well spent" as Ashworth has brought "a sense of stability and professionalism" to the club following his arrival, according to The Athletic.

Ashworth's appointment was part of a major shake-up at United following the arrival Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEO as minority owners. Chief executive Omar Berrada was also lured to the club from rivals Manchester City, while the club went on to make a splash in the transfer market by signing Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

Ashworth spoke of his early days at United before their clash with Liverpool last time out. He told reporters: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks. I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can, and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psycho­logy, whether that’s training‑ground flow, it’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the ­training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United."

United have made significant changes in the boardroom and on the pitch in a bid to get the Red Devils challenging for trophies once more. However, manager Erik ten Hag has come under pressure once again at the start of the after seeing his two beaten twice in their first three fixtures. They return to action on Saturday against Southampton.