'Not fit for purpose' - Man Utd sporting director Dan Ashworth hurt by pointed criticism from Newcastle successor Paul Mitchell

Ashworth, who formally left the Magpies in July to join Manchester United, has been indirectly blamed for the club's poor performance in the recently concluded summer transfer window. Mitchell claimed that Newcastle's old transfer structure was “not fit for purpose” after being drafted in to replace Ashworth. The criticism, however, has not gone down well with the new United sporting director, according to The Telegraph.

The report adds that Mitchell accused Ashworth's regime of overpaying for certain players, which has hurt Newcastle's transfer policy and led to no new signings been made in the summer. Mitchell only had seven weeks to target new players in order to bolster Eddie Howe's Magpies squad. They were closely linked with a move for England defender Marc Guehi but it did not materialise in the end. Newcastle also saw a move to sign former United attacker Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest break down.

Ashworth was reportedly deeply hurt by the words of Mitchell as he did not expect a fellow sporting director to directly point fingers at the previous regime. At United, he oversaw five new signings in the summer that includes big names like Matthijs De Ligt, Leny Yoro, and Manuel Ugarte.

Having failed to sign a single player in the summer, Mitchell and the rest of the Newcastle board have already started planning for the January window, and they are likely to go after Crystal Palace's Guehi once again.