Man Utd takeover: Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth has addressed Old Trafford links

The partial takeover at Manchester United continues to drag on with plenty of speculation surrounding key roles once the deal is confirmed.

Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth has been linked with a move to Premier League rivals Manchester United.

His success on Tyneside has seen him linked with the sporting director role at Manchester United. Manchester Evening News have claimed Ashworth is incoming minority owners, the INEOS Group's 'prime choice' for the sporting director role at Old Trafford.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group are set to have a 25% minority stake in Manchester United ratified. This will see Ratcliffe take charge of footballing operations at Old Trafford.

What has been said previously?

Ashworth has a 'long-standing relationship' with INEOS' director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford. Last summer, Brailsford was invited by Ashworth to host a presentation in front of the Newcastle squad during the pre-season visit to Portugal.

"I’ve known Sir Dave for a number of years, working across various different sports and he is without doubt the best in world sport at creating high-performance culture and turning that into winning," Ashworth said at the time. "There were some brilliant messages for us all and it was great to get him in at this point of pre-season."

Meanwhile, via our sister title, the Shields Gazette: Manchester United legend Gary Neville also praised Ashworth for the work he has done so far at Newcastle. The pair spoke briefly during Newcastle's 3-0 Carabao Cup win at Old Trafford last month.

And when asked about the conversation and speculation linking him with a move to Old Trafford, Ashworth was quick to play things down.

"First of all, I literally saw Gary when walking into the directors' box and he was going down the tunnel. I shouted 'hello' and that was it,’ Ashworth said last month. "I didn't have a conversation with Gary. I know him and Phil [Neville] from their England days. He's written some very kind things and thank you, Gary.

"But it’s the same situation as Eddie [Howe], I think. I'm really happy, it's a brilliant city, club and project. I'm thoroughly engaged in throwing myself into all of those things and really enjoying the challenge."

What's the latest with the Man Utd takeover?

As reported by Michael Plant; "There remains an outside chance that Manchester United’s partial takeover will be completed before Christmas, but it’s growing increasingly likely that an agreement between the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe won't be announced until the new year.

"The Ineos lead shareholder is set to purchase 25 percent of the club’s shares, with those involved in the process working to complete the final details as quickly as possible. It was hoped in mid-November that arrangements would be announced soon, but the long-running saga now looks likely to drag into January.

"ManchesterWorld understands that if a deal is not in place by Thursday, it is unlikely that an announcement will be made over the Christmas period."