Former Manchester United sports director Dan Ashworth is reportedly a shock return to the FA after enduring a brutal exit from Old Trafford.
Ashworth was brought by Ineos in the United Fold to many fanfare in the summer of last year, which stripped him from Newcastle.
However, the 54-year-old lasted only 159 days after his tenure as a sports director, rejected by Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the Red Devils’ 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in December.
According to The Telegraph, Ashworth is talking about a surprising return to the FA and he can take a role that leads him to the technical operations of men and women.
He will also oversee the radical renovation of St George’s Park, home to England football, and also looks carefully at coach development. The state of coaching roads is a major concern for the FA, with only two Englishs currently running in the Premier League and a German national, Thomas Tuchel, responsible for the national setup.
It is said that there is no suggestion that the current technical director John McDermott will leave the FA or change his role, as is the case for the role of the female director, currently held by Kay Cossington, who will leave at the end of the year to hold a new post.
The FA refused to comment.
Ashworth was six years with the governing body between 2012 and 2018, and rose from the head of Elite development to the entire football operation at St George’s Park.
He left the FA to take a role as a sports director at Brighton and Hove Albion before moving to Newcastle in 2022.
Ashworth was on Tyneside for two years before being snapped up by United in February 2024, but was forced to wait through five months of garden leave before their new sports director could begin.
Ratcliffe has regarded its new recruitment as one of the “top sports directors in the world”, with this appointment clearly intended as one for the long term.
With the club weakening in the bottom half of the table after spending around £ 100m in the summer, Ashworth was just exempt from his duties for just five months in his lead.
He has been considered for a number of roles since his departure from the United States, including for the vacancy of the Arsenal Sports Director left by Edu.
But it now seems that a return to well -known pastures for Ashworth could be as the talks with the FA progress.
