The new Manchester United is starting to take shape off the pitch under the leadership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos. An obvious strategy has been missing in recent years and implementing it will be the key to success on the pitch. Omar Berrada will take over as CEO in the summer and talks are underway to add Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director.
Ratcliffe was clear about what he wanted from a CEO and made Berrada the main target. The Frenchman’s credentials are impeccable having spent 12 years at City Football Group (CFG), following a spell at Barcelona. Berrada has been identified as a potential business leader by professional sports organizations for years. NFL franchises were among those interested.
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There is also the devil’s work from Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, as acquiring an influential figure from their arch-rivals is a coup with added spice. Berrada is a rarity in football in that he is highly respected and loved by those who have worked with the man who was integral to City’s recent transfer negotiations.
Berrada laid out his United plans early on, desperate to establish a solid management team that can chart a new path. Ashworth and Wilcox – another with long-term experience at CFG – have held discussions with him. It is understood Berrada is keen to appoint a deputy chief executive and has spoken to at least one senior person in football finance about the role.
Newcastle are demanding a minimum of £10 million in compensation for Ashworth and with the former PE teacher’s contract reportedly containing a “gardening leave” clause preventing him from starting at a new club for a calendar year, that figure will almost certainly rise.
If Manchester United want Ashworth this spring or, more realistically, summer, they will have to pay. His arrival would almost certainly herald the departure of football director John Murtough and bring further appointments to the recruitment department.
Champions League qualification would benefit summer transfer plans in terms of financial strength and the club’s appeal. Ashworth has a track record of seeking out players under 25 with the potential to improve. There is a core of young quality at Old Trafford that he is keen to strengthen.
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Ashworth’s fans would say he is worth more than £10million, but perhaps tellingly, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has never been one of his main cheerleaders. Although there is no real friction and mutual respect, Ashworth has never been allowed into Howe’s inner circle. The former Norwich pupil has not built the close bond with Howe that he experienced with the likes of Gareth Southgate at the FA, West Brom’s Tony Mowbray and Brighton’s Graham Potter.
Although Ashworth has had good relations with Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian majority shareholders, he has reportedly become somewhat frustrated with the way every decision in Riyadh has to be approved, sometimes slowly.
A key to Ashworth’s rise to the game’s highest echelons has been his seamless ability to move between boardroom and training ground. “I feel comfortable in a suit as well as a tracksuit,” says the UEFA Pro license holder, who made his first break as an education and welfare officer in Peterborough. After rising to academy director, Ashworth moved to a similar role in Cambridge before moving to West Brom.
By the time he left the FA for Brighton, he began to describe his role as ‘the hub of the wheel’, serving as a vital conduit between departments. It’s a misnomer to think of him primarily as some kind of super talent identifier. Certainly at Newcastle, Howe, whose cousin Andy Howe is head of technical scouting, has the final say on transfers and Ashworth’s role has been to handle the final stages of negotiations and ensure deals are completed.
At Tyneside he played a key role in the integration and professionalisation of the women’s team, was involved in the renovation of Newcastle’s dilapidated training ground and appointed a head of psychology.
Crucially, Ashworth – whose family home is in Staffordshire, considerably closer to Manchester than Newcastle – knows better than to run while he is better off walking, and is adept at using excellent communication skills to build trust. Howe certainly appreciates his approach. “When you’re in a position of power like Dan is, the natural temptation is to change everything, to come in with a big ego and say, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’” he said Friday. “The biggest compliment I can give Dan is that he didn’t do that – and that’s difficult. He allowed the existing structures to exist and survive, and we still work the same way.”
The only blemish on Ashworth’s tenure at Newcastle has been Sandro Tonali’s 10-month ban for breaching Italian gambling rules. Ashworth’s key role in completing the Italian midfielder’s £55 million transfer from Milan was the subject of a forensic internal investigation which reportedly concluded that, without resorting to illegal surveillance, it would have been impossible to to be aware of Tonali’s gambling addiction.
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Wilcox would work under Ashworth, where he would be responsible for coaching methodology and player development, while the sporting director oversees football operations and leads recruitment. Wilcox coached Manchester City under-18s before becoming academy director, giving him insight into both sides of the coin when it comes to development.
Wanting to try a senior role with the first team, the former Blackburn winger left for Southampton in January 2023, assisting with the rebuild Russell Martin has undertaken since relegation from the Premier League, which is starting to pay off. Wilcox is from the North West and spent most of his playing career in the region, so the chance to return to Manchester would be a bonus.
The people United focuses on have the necessary expertise and experience. It will be a huge task to turn the ship at Old Trafford, but the planning was clinical. Ratcliffe and others must hope the execution matches.