Potential replacements for Dan Ashworth at Manchester United: A look at the latest odds on bookmakers' favourites
Dan Ashworth's unexpected departure from Manchester United has caused a stir in the footb...
Dan Ashworth's unexpected departure from Manchester United has caused a stir in the footballing community.
INEOS courted the 53-year-old former FA chief all summer and were even prepared to wait for his gardening leave at Newcastle United to be over before choosing to hire him. But just five months into his tenure at Old Trafford, the house of cards has come crashing down.
Informed of his decision on Saturday, Ashworth is now out of work once again and with minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe proving quite the cold-blood character, it begs the question as to who will replace the former Magpies director in the Manchester United hot seat?
Dougie Freedman leads the way with the bookmakers as Dan Ashworth's successor mooted
Plenty of names have already started to be linked with a move to Old Trafford but it is Crystal Palace's sporting director Dougie Freedman who leads the way. BonusCodeBets has the 50-year-old as the 2/1 frontrunner at present.
Freedman worked in management for a brief period, with spells at Palace, Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest preceding his move into directorship at Selhurst Park. He has been in the role with the Eagles since 2017.
Second favourite is Atletico Madrid's sporting director Andrea Berta, with the odds of him succeeding Ashworth as short as 4/1. Juventus' Cristiano Giuntoli (6/1) is next on the list.
Lee Congerton and Paolo Maldini are both priced at 16/1 with the latter having recently spent four years at the San Siro as the club's technical director from 2019-2023.
Get FourFourTwo NewsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Another Newcastle chief in Paul Mitchell could be an option and he is now 20/1 to takeover with the bookies, but that would present perhaps another no-go given the scale of Ashworth's downfall.
He was linked with the job at the Theatre of Dreams before INEOS took over back in December 2023 and we here at FourFourTwo can't see another Newcastle staff member leaving for Manchester United any time soon.
Next Manchester United sporting director oddsDougie Freedman - 2/1Andrea Berta - 4/1Cristiano Giuntoli - 6/1Lee Congerton - 12/1Paolo Maldini - 16/1Paul Mitchell - 20/1Julian Ward - 25/1Ralf Rangnick - 33/1Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 50/1via BonusCodeBets.
