Likely nothing in it bit mildly interesting:
Dan Ashworth is understood to have had a meeting at Wolves’ training ground after being placed on gardening leave by Newcastle United earlier this year without informing his employers.
i has learned that Ashworth met with Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs at the club’s Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground in March, several weeks after leaving Newcastle.
Ashworth was placed on gardening leave on 19 February a few days after he informed Newcastle he wanted to leave to join Manchester United, but the two clubs have yet to reach an agreement.
Newcastle are understood to be demanding £20m in compensation for their sporting director which Manchester United are refusing to pay, with Ashworth – who remains an employee at Newcastle for the time being – taking his old club to arbitration in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
The revelation that Ashworth met a senior figure at another Premier League club while on gardening leave could complicate an already acrimonious matter even further as Newcastle look to defend their position at an arbitration hearing.
Manchester United sources insist that Ashworth’s meeting at Wolves had nothing to do with them and that he was acting in a personal capacity, as his teenage son is an academy player at the club. During his visit to Wolves, Ashworth is also understood to have had a fleeting conversation with manager Gary O’Neil following a chance encounter.
Ashworth’s family home is close to Wolves’ training ground, as his first job was sporting director at West Brom before he went on to take similar roles at the FA, Brighton and Newcastle.
Sources at Wolves have indicated that as sporting director Hobbs is not in the habit of having one-on-one meetings with the parents of academy players as his main remit is the first team, although he is understood to have a good professional relationship with Ashworth.
i understands that Manchester United were made aware privately of Ashworth’s visit to Wolves sometime after the event following reports linking O’Neil to a potential coaching role at Old Trafford.
There is no suggestion that Ashworth was involved in or even aware of any discussions at Manchester United about O’Neil. Manchester United and Newcastle have been approached for comment.
In another twist, the Daily Mail reported last month that Newcastle discovered emails from Ashworth to Manchester United’s incoming chief executive Omar Berrada from early February in which they discussed the sporting director vacancy at Old Trafford before the two clubs had held formal talks.
In an embarrassing gaffe, Ashworth blind-copied the emails to his official Newcastle account, which alerted his employers to the possibility that he had been tapped up.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe labelled Newcastle’s demands for £20m in compensation for Ashworth as “silly” in February, but has since made personal attempts to try and resolve the dispute. The Ineos founder invited Newcastle director Amanda Staveley for a meeting to broker a deal in April, which she attended, but no progress was made as Newcastle’s owners have mandated the club’s chief executive Darren Eales to handle the talks.
