Born in March 1971, Dan Ashworth studied at the College of West Anglia in England for two years and also featured in the academy for Norwich City. The defender had stints with non-league sides, Eastbourne Town and Wisbech Town where he featured prominently.
With coaching spells with West Florida Fury in the United States as well as becoming an assistant youth team manager at West Bromwich Albion, one would expect Ashworth to move up the ranks from manager at the youth level to an elite coach.
However, fate changed in December 2007 when he was promoted to West Bromwich’s sporting and technical director.
His next big move came in 2012 when he was appointed as the FA director of elite development where he established a prominent theme for player development tagged the “England DNA”. Ashworth played a pivotal role in masterminding the age-grade teams in England. A feat that was a testament to England’s under-17 and U20 World Cup triumphs.
At the club level, the 52-year-old masterminded West Brom’s category-one academy status back in 2012 to nurture some of the best starlets in England.
As such, promising youngsters such as Rekeem Harper, Kyle Edwards, Sam Field, Rayhaan Tulloch and Morgan Rogers emerged from the academy to feature for the first team. The Baggies youth team went on to feature in an FA Youth Cup semi-final for the first time in 41 years before being knocked out by eventual champions, Manchester City.
After resigning from his role as FA director of Elite Development, Ashworth joined Brighton and Hove Albion where his remarkable strides become even more prominent.
From the academy to the women’s team and the men’s team, Ashworth showcased an invaluable blueprint that has helped shape Brighton’s brilliant recruitment policies over the years.
He masterminded the signing of relatively unknown talents to the club, where there were later developed into world-class players. One of such players is the Premier League’s most expensive player in history, Moises Caicedo who signed for Brighton from Independiente del Valle for just £4m. The Colombian International was transformed into an archetypical world-class midfielder before being sold to Chelsea for a record £120m.
The likes of Alexis MacAlister, and Marc Cucurella all joined the Seagulls for modest fees but later made big money transfers away from the club.
While at Newcastle, he ensured the swift transition period from former owner, Mike Ashley to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which saw a huge turnover in performances and results as Eddie Howe’s appointment helped steadied the ship and ensured Premier League survival.
It’s no surprise that INEOS, headed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen on bringing the West Anglia alumni to Old Trafford to oversee a swift turnover period in the club.
What sets him on the edge above other prominent football directors such as Manchester City’s Txiki Begiristain, AS Roma’s Tiago Pinto, Aston Villa’s Monchi, Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta and Bayern Munich’s Christoph Freund is his transition expertise.
While he is also at peak level when it comes to transfer negotiations and usurping young talents, his ability to ensure a seamless transition period at a club without any negative effect on the on-pitch performances has put him on the radar of many top clubs and it’s no surprise why United are vying for him to oversee the club’s football structure ahead of next season.
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