Berrada new role, Berta chase, Ratcliffe pressure - Man Utd next sporting director decision made

Dan Ashworth is the latest Manchester United employee to leave the club after they mutually agreed that the sporting director would depart barely five months after arriving.

United paid Newcastle United a multi-million-pound compensation fee in the summer to end months of negotiations over Ashworth, and the Reds have now parted ways before the year is over. The club reportedly showed interest in Dougie Freedman earlier this year, with the Crystal Palace sporting director said to be open to the move, according to The Guardian.

Links to Andrea Berta have also emerged again, and the Atletico Madrid sporting director is expected to depart the Spanish club this summer. The Manchester Evening News have asked our writers about the development.

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It appears too late for any replacement to arrive before the winter transfer window opens this January, as those plans should already be in place at this stage. An incumbent sporting director leaving a role mid-season also seems unlikely, so it may be better for United to hold off on an appointment until the new year, who would start next season.

That is what Manchester City have done with Hugo Viana, albeit Txiki Begiristain is seeing out the campaign rather than departing immediately. Despite that, they are not alone in having a sporting director over recent months, with Arsenal also leaving his role at Arsenal.

United is unlikely to welcome such competition, especially within what does not appear to be a crowded group of options. Freedman, though, is someone they are said to have held an interest in appointing as their head of