Sir Jim Ratcliffe's new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, has been given the chance to arrive early, with ESPN reporting suggesting that the club may be close to agreeing with Newcastle United to allow the former Brighton director to end his gardening leave and start work at Old Trafford immediately.
The 53-year-old informed Newcastle in February that he was planning to make the move to Manchester United, and the Magpies immediately arranged for him to go on a gardening holiday. Newcastle have been demanding £20 million in compensation from Manchester United, but Manchester United are only willing to pay £3 million, and the two sides have broken up.
Rajab angrily denounced Newcastle's outrageous price for compensation, so he did not hesitate to wait 18 months before letting Ashworth take office. Ashworth had considered arbitration to try to join United as soon as possible, but if the case goes to his advantage, it won't be concluded until March next year at the earliest, even if the outcome is in his favour.
At Manchester United, only Southampton's Jason Wilcox has joined as technical director. Chief executive Omar Berada will officially take office on 13 July and City's non-compete period against him is coming to an end.
In Ashworth's absence, United's summer transfer plans were handled by Wilcox, chief scout Steve Brown and football negotiator Matt Hargreaves. However, ESPN reports that Manchester United insiders have admitted that the United buying "can't go full throttle" without Ashworth.
Manchester United have decided to keep Ten Hag in charge next season and will need to sign a centre-back, striker and midfielder in the summer transfer window. Sources told ESPN that the club want to agree a new contract with Ten Hag as soon as possible, then appoint Ruud van Nistelrooy and Eredivisie Eagles boss Rene Haake to the coaching staff, and then accelerate the signings.
For this reason, Manchester United can only choose to bow to Newcastle, increase the amount of compensation, and exchange Ashworth for taking office as soon as possible. The club officially declined to comment on the rumours, but admitted that the matter may not need to be resolved through arbitration.
United's summer window for the sale of players has not gone well, with little agreement reached in June, with the only player to be sold, Alvaro Fernandez, after Benfica activated the buyout clause in his January loan contract.
Rajue had hoped to sign a new centre-back first to show that his management was different from that of the Glazer family. However, Everton's £70 million price tag left Manchester United helpless. Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has reported that Manchester United, while still reluctant to give up, believe the price is too high and are now exploring other options, such as Bayern Munich's De Ligt.
The Sun revealed that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City intends to "raise the price" and join the battle for Branswaite. Everton sold striker Lewis Dobin and centre-back Ben Godfrey for £20 million, and the pressure to sell quickly is no longer on for July. They will also sell players to comply with the Premier League's PSR profitability and sustainability rules, but they will not sell them cheaply. Branswaite is on contract with the Toffees until 2027, and the latter will insist on asking for a high price. Manchester United's £43 million offer was laughed off by their opponents.
Manchester United have also been rumoured to bring in young centre-back Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors in the summer window, with the Red Devils scouting him for months, but Chelsea have already taken the lead by signing the 19-year-old Argentinian centre-back for £14 million.
At the same time, the likes of Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood, Victor Lindelof and others that United want to sell have also failed to complete the deal. July has arrived, and the new fiscal year has begun, and the new season training camp will start soon. Therefore, Rajue wants Ashworth to arrive immediately to help Manchester United bring in new signings and sell redundant players faster and better.