WAIT FOR DAN NOT WORTH IT

DAN ASHWORTH spent almost as long on gardening leave, waiting to be appointed Manchester United's sporting director, as he did in the role itself.

- DAVID MCDONNELL

That alone underlines the sense of chaos and muddled thinking at United under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with Ashworth having left his role after just five months.

Ratcliffe hailed Ashworth, 53, as "one of the top sporting directors in the world", with United paying Newcastle around £3m to secure his services back in the summer.

Ashworth played a key role in United's £200m summer outlay on Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee. Of those five, only Mazraoui can be considered a success.