Manchester United have finally been able to appoint Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director, so he can get to work at spearheading their rejuvenation project under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Ashworth’s Old Trafford arrival couldn’t have come soon enough. The Red Devils finished eighth in the table last season, their lowest-ever Premier League finish, with a negative goal difference. The club suffered their highest number of defeats in a single campaign since 1978, although they did end it on a high by winning the FA Cup.
This summer will see a big rebuild, though, so here are four matters Ashworth must address in order to drag United out of their malaise.
Tackle Ten Hag’s contract
The most obvious question mark hanging over Old Trafford over the past few months was the future of Erik ten Hag, until United decided to keep him because of a failure to convince other targets to replace him.
The Dutchman still has one year remaining on his contract, but now United need to decide if they are going to extend their show of faith in him by renewing his deal beyond then, rather than just letting him retain the reins for another season.
Ten Hag arrived from Ajax in the summer of 2022 with a reputation for being an astute tactical thinker capable of delivering eye-catching possession-based football and a fine developer of young talent.
In his first season at the helm, a third-place Premier League finish and an EFL Cup triumph represented a more-than-respectable return and suggested Ten Hag was the man to at last drag United out of their post-Sir Alex Ferguson doldrums.
But his second season saw a stark regression. Awful luck with injuries was a mitigating factor, yet there can be no excuse for how poorly prepared United appeared to be tactically on a near-weekly basis, with the same deficiencies – a lack of organisation at set pieces, huge spaces left in midfield and a catastrophic susceptibility to cut-backs – costing them time and again.
Ten Hag’s signings have been sub-standard, too. With over £400 million spent on players hand-picked by the manager, the only unqualified success story is that of Lisandro Martinez, but the Argentinian defender’s injury struggles mean he can’t be relied on. Meanwhile Antony, the Brazilian winger United paid £85 million to sign from Ten Hag’s former club Ajax, is a strong contender to be considered the worst signing in the club’s history.
It could be argued that the Dutchman deserves a full season under INEOS’ operation of the club. With the decision made to stick with the manager, tying down his future remains a pressing task waiting in Ashworth’s inbox.
Replace Casemiro
Casemiro’s performance in the 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in May was so bad that it not only brought into question his United career but his future at the top level.
“I think Casemiro, I am being deadly serious, should know himself tonight as an experienced player, that he should only have another three games at the top level, the next two league games and the [FA Cup] final, and thinking I need to go to the MLS or Saudi in his post-match analysis.
The Brazilian midfielder – who was filling in at centre-back at Selhurst Park – was to varying degrees culpable for all four palace goals. And it was not a one-off stinker. The four-time Champions League winner has aged in dog years since arriving at Old Trafford from Real Madrid in a £70 million deal two years ago. A strong showing in his first six months with the club has been followed be a steep decline, as his mobility has faded and his decision-making has eluded him.
United have several orders of business in the transfer market this summer, but none is more pressing than the need to find a replacement for Casemiro in central midfield. The 32-year-old four-time Champions League winner can no longer be considered a viable long-term partner for 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo. Ashworth must consult his famous database of potential targets and select a suitable heir for the once-great midfielder.
Structured recruitment
If Ten Hag had been dispensed with before the start of next season, his successor would have faced a similar issue the Dutchman and those who came before him have had to contend with – being handed a squad full of players signed by the previous boss.
Perhaps a hangover from the days when the club had an all-powerful figurehead in Ferguson, or more likely a result of poor organisational leadership under the Glazers, United have continued to subscribe to an antiquated approach to transfers that sees the manager taking a lead role in identifying and selecting targets.
Nowadays, most elite clubs operate under a structure in which a club vision is adhered to when it comes to transfer business, with a director of football overseeing the process of scouting potential targets and negotiating transfers, with the manager – or head coach – only one part of a bigger machine. This ensures that any turnover in the dugout does not require a costly upheaval of the playing staff.
The fact United have hired Ashworth – and have already appointed Jason Wilcox as technical director – suggests the club’s new decision makers are moving swiftly to a similarly modern set-up. It will be Ashworth’s job to oversee its implementation.
Common sense with contracts
Another factor complicating United’s recent transfer dealings is the size of the contracts they have handed to new arrivals. Casemiro – the club’s highest earner on a reported £400,000 a week – is a prime example, but he is just the latest in a long line of players United have bought, given an enormous salary and then been unable to sell.
So desperate have United been to attract star names to resuscitate the post-Ferguson era that they threw money at the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Angel di Maria, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire.
Then when these players inevitably underperformed amid the chaotic lack of structure and continuity at the club, they became extremely difficult to sell, as no other club was willing to match their exorbitant salaries. United have been faced with the choice to either subsidise the wages of an unwanted former star – effectively paying them to play for someone else – or hold on to them as any remaining market value plummets.
