Dan Ashworth: True eye-watering compensation fee Man Utd paid Newcastle revealed as sporting director is axed at Old Trafford after just five months

Manchester United announced that they had parted ways with sporting director Ashworth on Sunday evening. It has been revealed that the Red Devils made the decision after the working relationship deteriorated between the top brass after the decision was made to sack Erik ten Hag and Ashworth is said to have failed to “provide clear, compelling arguments for who to bring in”.

Manchester United brought Ashworth to Old Trafford in the summer as INEOS looked to overhaul the way the club's sporting department was run under the Glazer family's ownership. It has now been revealed by The Times that the Red Devils paid close to £5 million ($6.3m) which is quite a ways off from Newcastle United's original demand of £20 million ($25.5m).

After spending £200 million on five players during the summer transfer window, United has very little money to invest in the January window. Although just three of the acquisitions (Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui) were made after Ashworth's hiring, it is probable that he was informed of the club's efforts to recruit Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro. Out of all the signings, only Mazraoui has succeeded at Old Trafford.

It remains uncertain what Manchester United want to do with the vacant sporting director slot as they enter the January transfer window. As such, the player recruitment duties may now fall to Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and new boss Ruben Amorim.