Dan Ashworth may be finally able to put down his trowel after Newcastle United reopened talks with Brighton.
Ashworth, of course, was put on gardening leave by the Seagulls after resigning as technical director last February to take up a new role with Newcastle, but his notice period does not run out until November. Although Newcastle's owners are determined not to be held to ransom by Brighton, it is easy to see why the Magpies have made a fresh attempt to bring in Ashworth at an earlier date.
Newcastle will spend bigger sums on players this summer, but Ashworth would be the club's most important addition if he is to arrive in the coming weeks. This is the man, after all, who will create a structure and establish an overarching philosophy in the medium to long-term as he oversees the men's first team, the women's team, player recruitment, the academy, medical and sports science, and the loan department.
Ashworth will be keen to observe and assess in his first few months at the club and provide the support these departments have long needed rather than completely ripping up the foundations. However, if Ashworth is to arrive in time for the summer window, the sporting director could still be a real asset.
Brighton, like Newcastle's transfer committee, tackled transfer windows collaboratively and the Seagulls' head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley, mainly handled incomings while it was Ashworth who led on outgoings. It was only during a busy time at the end of a summer, where Brighton may be targeting a number of players, that those targets would be divided up between Winstanley, Ashworth and chief executive Paul Barber.
It is hard not to imagine a similar arrangement at Newcastle between Ashworth and head of recruitment
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