After Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to assert his authority at Old Trafford, it would be shocking if Manchester United failed to sign Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox to important behind-the-scenes roles. According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, who spoke to GIVEMESPORT, INEOS is sticking to their original plan.
With the completion of INEOS’s purchase of a 25% stake in the club in February—after complex negotiations with the Glazer family—the Red Devils entered a new era, and the new boardroom members have wasted no time making their impression. INEOS now controls football operations.
Ratcliffe is eager to make additional off-field changes before the 2024–25 season begins, even though Omar Berrada will be taking over as sports director of Manchester United in the summer after finishing gardening leave with arch-rivals Manchester City. As Ratcliffe remains uncertain about the timing of Ashworth’s arrival at Old Trafford, despite his agreement to join from Premier League rivals Newcastle United, Berrada and Wilcox are expected to spearhead Manchester United’s recruiting effort during the summer transfer window, as reported by The Guardian.
As director John Murtough is set to depart his position by the end of the week, the news that the Red Devils have been unable to arrange a compensation settlement with the Magpies after attempting to sign the 53-year-old as their next sports director is a devastating blow.
Even though last month it came to light that Manchester United had made headway in its talks with Newcastle, co-owner Amanda Staveley is adamant on getting a £21 million price so Ashworth’s gardening leave can expire before January 2026. Rumour has it that the Red Devils are about to negotiate a deal with Southampton for director of football Wilcox. After a successful stint on the south coast, Wilcox is anticipated to become the next technical director at Old Trafford, according to noted writer Ben Jacobs, who recently spoke to GIVEMESPORT.
The 52-year-old’s transfer to Manchester United is almost certainly going through, according to Saints manager Russell Martin; however, Ratcliffe must still arrange a compensation package with the Championship promotion contenders before the deal can be finalised. Even though they’ve run into problems getting appointments set up, Ratcliffe and the other new hierarchy members, including Sir Dave Brailsford, are determined to focus on implementing internal changes before the transfer window opens for business, as Sheth is aware.
Although Southampton and Newcastle have been preventing Ashworth and Wilcox from leaving until their financial demands are satisfied, the Sky Sports reporter firmly believes that it would be quite surprising if they do not ultimately decide to leave their present positions for prospects at Old Trafford.
To GIVEMESPORT, Sheth said:
Even if we haven’t made any progress towards a settlement, I don’t believe anything has changed in that everyone is expecting that, with Omar Berrada now at the helm as Manchester United’s chief executive, the club will concentrate on the upper echelons and their recruiting needs.
Naturally, Dan Ashworth’s gardening leave has basically caused him to depart from Newcastle. His appointment as Manchester United’s sports director is now widely expected.
“It will probably now be a shock if Jason Wilcox doesn’t become the technical director at Manchester United as well.” According to GIVEMESPORT’s sources, Erik ten Hag is already planning for next season as Manchester United boss. This comes as Ratcliffe has been unable to find a suitable successor to the Dutch tactician, who has cast doubt on ten Hag’s long-term viability as manager, and ten Hag is reportedly already making plans for the upcoming campaign.
The former Ajax boss is reportedly scheduled to meet with the revamped management team this summer to discuss his future in charge, having been tasked with leading United to Champions League qualifying for the next season. Ten Hag is currently poised to be in charge when the 2024/25 campaign begins, despite the fact that Manchester United are in grave danger of failing to achieve that goal. They are currently 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and have scored fewer goals than any of their Premier League rivals in the top ten.