“Not happy at all” – Fabrizio Romano details behind-the-scenes issues at Manchester United

Fabrizio Romano has provided some insight into the problems behind the scenes at Manchester United as Dan Ashworth has just left his position as sporting director.

It seems owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not happy at all with Man Utd’s performance in the summer transfer window, with Ashworth likely to have had a key role in a number of the signings brought in to Old Trafford.

Ashworth previously impressed with his recruitment during spells at clubs like Newcastle and Brighton, but it seems Ratcliffe was quite quickly left unsatisfied with the job he was doing with the Red Devils.

See below for the latest info from Romano on X, formerly Twitter, following earlier reports about Ashworth’s departure…

??? Dan Ashworth left his role at Manchester United after 5 months, it’s over with the sporting director as revealed by @TheAthleticFC.

Tense situation with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, not happy at all with last summer strategy.

United spent around £3m to get Ashworth from Newcastle. pic.twitter.com/klfc9sQ5jb

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 8, 2024

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Ashworth will surely be a man in demand now that he’s leaving United, but fans will perhaps also be understandably disappointed with how his time with the club went.

Perhaps if given a bit more time, Ashworth could have done more, and questions might also be asked of INEOS in general after so much upheaval already during their time as co-owners with sporting control.

Dan Ashworth follows Erik ten Hag out of Manchester United

Just a few months ago, Ashworth had joined as sporting director and Erik ten Hag was being given a new contract by MUFC.

Now both are gone, which just shows how chaotic things have still been since INEOS came in, following on from a period under the hugely unpopular Glazer family.

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United fans have previously made it well know just how little they think of the Glazers, but Ratcliffe doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement, based on what we’ve seen so far.

It would be interesting to know what new United manager Ruben Amorim makes of this, having only just taken over in the Old Trafford dugout, inheriting a struggling playing squad and now finding himself surrounded by chaos at board level.