Manchester United's fee for Dan Ashworth 'nowhere near' Newcastle valuation

Manchester United reportedly agreed on a cut-price deal to hire Newcastle's former sporting director Dan Ashworth before his gardening leave ended.

When Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in the Reds at the beginning of the year, he was clear his mission was to improve not only the playing squad but the boardroom too. Top of his list was the appointment of Ashworth who has grown an impressive reputation in the game.

In February, Ashworth informed Newcastle of his desire to join United and he was subsequently placed on gardening leave. It was understood the Magpies wanted £20m to allow the 53-year-old to move to Old Trafford immediately.

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Ratcliffe took umbrage to this valuation, telling reporters: "I think it’s a bit silly, personally. I won’t get dragged into that.

"What I do think is completely absurd is suggesting a man who is really good at his job sits in his garden for one and a half years." Despite being far apart in their valuations, United announced at the beginning of July that Ashworth had joined the club starting immediately.

The price United paid to end the agreement between Newcastle and Ashworth early has remained undisclosed but former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson has told Football Insider that the figure is much less than the £10m suggested by some. "There is quite a lot of rumour and counter rumour about how much Newcastle settled for in the end on Ashworth," he said.

"I did hear one source say to me the fee was as low £3m. I’ve heard that it was well below £10m and nowhere near some of the numbers that have been rumoured.

"At the end of the day,