Dan Ashworth wanted Premier League boss over Ruben Amorim before Man Utd exit

Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth wanted Brentford manager Thomas Frank to replace Erik ten Hag, not Ruben Amorim. Ashworth spent just five months at Manchester United, starting in his role in July last year and leaving in December. His short stint at Old Trafford seemed bizarre after they had worked hard to bring him in from Newcastle United and spent around £3m on doing so. The surprise departure was by mutual agreement, according to a club statement, with the BBC reporting that ‘the decision was difficult but was made collaboratively following a period of transition, with the new ownership still trying to work out the best structure for the club.’.

One decision that Ashworth was not a fan of during his spell with the Red Devils, was the appointment of current manager Amorim. The Sun reports that the former sporting director preferred a manager with experience of the Premier League and wanted Bees boss Frank to take over from Old Trafford. Amorim was preferred by chief executive Omar Berrada and the Portuguese was indeed brought in from Sporting, with United paying £11m for their new manager.

The decision to sack Ten Hag, appoint Amorim and Ashworth cost Manchester United just shy of £25m. While it is impossible to know whether Ashworth’s preference would have succeeded, it is hard to imagine Frank doing any worse than Amorim is currently, with the Red Devils sitting 15th in the Premier League table. Defeat to Tottenham on Sunday in north London was Manchester United’s 12th in 25 Premier League games so far this season, scoring just 28 goals in that time.

Meanwhile Brentford, with seriously limited resources compared to the Red Devils, are 11th in the top flight, scoring 43 goals in their 25 outings, winning more and losing fewer matches than United. Frank has been at Brentford since taking over as manager in October 2018, leading the Bees up from the Championship and establishing them as a stable force in the Premier League. The Dane has been linked with a number of bigger jobs and responded to Manchester United speculation in October, not by ruling it out but suggesting it would take a lot for him to leave a club where he is very happy.

‘Who knows what will happen in future? As I said many times, I think it is very important, because I am probably at one of the best clubs in the world… why should I leave this place?’ Frank said on The Sports Agents podcast. ‘But things can happen. You can want new inspiration. If I ever got the offer from a bigger club and I decided to go there, it would probably not make my life better. ‘I think we all know that. But hey, that’s maybe a challenge that, you know, you need to try.’.

He added: ‘I’ve been so happy here. There’s still things we can achieve. “I think data is good, but I think our really secret sauce – our ingredients in the secret sauce – is the is the culture and the togetherness. ‘I think that’s where we stand out in many ways. It’s more clear strategy, clear alignment from top to bottom. Good people working hard, same direction every single day. And then the people up top do something very, very, very rare football – they take good, sensible, calm decisions!’.