‘They’ve not had that’ - Gary Neville tells Man Utd supporters what to expect from Newcastle chief

Gary Neville has welcomed Dan Ashworth’s potential arrival at Manchester United as sporting director.

While no deal has been confirmed, the Red Devils are expected to make an approach for the Newcastle United chief. Ashworth was part of the setup at West Bromwich Albion, the FA and Brighton before joining the Magpies in 2022.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is masterminding a revolution at Old Trafford since being given sporting control by the Glazers. He has already pinched Manchester City CEO Omar Berrada and is likely to raid Newcastle for Ashworth - making him his number one target for sporting director.

The 52-year-old is revered as one of the best in his field and, speaking on The Stick to Football podcast, former United defender Neville embraced the appointment. He also gave fans an insight into what Ashworth achieved in previous roles.

“If Dan does come in, I do think there’s a chance that the performance mentality will improve,” Neville said. “The mentality that they do have (it) could run through the club quite quickly.

“I’m not saying Dan is going to be a success at Manchester United but if you’ve got the guy in from Manchester City (Berrada) and now Dan Ashworth, at least you’ve got people in roles that belong (there). They’ve not had that in the last 10 years.

“(With England) he started with the under-21s, the under-18s and with the women’s team. You think of the success of all those teams in recent years. That has been in the making for eight years - and it all started when Dan came in.

“I’m not saying he’s responsible for what happened but he had a big influence within the FA. They were a terrible organisation from a professionalism point of view and I felt, what he did, he put processes in place where they’re now structured and organised.”