Dan Ashworth free to start at Manchester United after Newcastle deal struck

Dan Ashworth is finally free to start work as Manchester United’s sporting director after compensation was agreed with Newcastle. The former Football Association technical director was placed on gardening leave in February after it became apparent Ashworth wanted to swap St James’ Park for Old Trafford to join the new Ineos management model established by the minority co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The 53-year-old joined Newcastle as sporting director from Brighton in 2022 and his exit did not go down well with them and they demanded a £20m settlement fee from United.

With £2m initially offeried it appeared the dispute was bound for arbitration but an out-of-court settlement was reached over the weekend, ending an impasse that has prevented Newcastle from appointing Ashworth’s successor.

“Newcastle United and Manchester United have reached an agreement for the immediate release of Dan Ashworth from his contractual obligations at Newcastle United,” a joint statement said. “The terms of this agreement remain confidential between the clubs. Newcastle United thanks Dan for his services and wishes him well for the future.”

The financial compromise also offered Newcastle a welcome boost as they struggled to fall on the right side of profitability and sustainability regulations before Sunday night’s deadline at the end of the latest three-year PSR cycle.

Premier League clubs are not permitted to lose more than £105m over three seasons but Newcastle hope that, allied to the Ashworth settlement, the weekend sales of Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton for a collective figure approaching £70m have warded off the threat of a points deduction in January. They are also in talks with a club in the Saudi Pro League about selling Miguel Almirón.

The new three-year PSR cycle offers clubs more room for manoeuvre and Newcastle duly announced the signing of left-back Lewis Hall in a £28m move from Chelsea on Monday. Hall spent last season on loan at St James’ Park. Newcastle have also signed the back-up goalkeeper John Ruddy after his Birmingham contract expired.

Although Eddie Howe, Newcastle’s manager, can now be confident of retaining two marquee names in the Sweden striker Alexander Isak and the Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães, the prospect of Liverpool reviving their interest in the England winger Anthony Gordon is not believed to have been fully extinguished.

Archie Gray has completed a medical at Tottenham and is expected to finalise his move from Leeds on Monday. The 18-year-old midfielder or right-back seemed set to join Brentford on Saturday but the move collapsed over the financial structure of the deal, opening the door for Spurs.

Tottenham are set to pay £25m-£30m, with the defender Joe Rodon going to Leeds as part of the deal. That should ease PSR concerns at Leeds, who, with 30 June having been a Sunday, have until midnight on Monday to sign off on Gray’s departure if they are to meet the deadline marking the end of the three-year cycle.

Ryan Sessegnon is training with Crystal Palace as the former England Under-21 defender attempts to earn a move to Selhurst Park. Sessegnon, who joined Tottenham from Fulham in 2019 for about £25m, was released by Spurs when his contract expired, having played seven minutes as a substitute for the first team in this past season in an FA Cup tie against Burnley in January.

The 24-year-old is recovering from surgery on a hamstring injury but is understood to be highly rated by Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner, and could provide competition for Tyrick Mitchell at left wing-back. Palace have confirmed the signing of Daichi Kamada on a two-year deal after the expiry of his contract at Lazio. He was part of the Eintracht Frankfurt side that won the Europa League under Glasner in 2022.