Man Utd January transfer budget SLASHED due to Dan Ashworth

Manchester United’s January transfer budget has been reduced due to the exit of sporting director Dan Ashworth.

Ashworth will receive a payout following his departure, while GiveMeSport report that Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to spend cash on immediately bringing in a top-level replacement.

The money used for this will be taken from the budget initially set for the January transfer window.

That comes as a big blow to Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim, who is desperate to strengthen a squad that languishes in 13th place after successive Premier League defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Amorim wants to sign a new left-back but GMS report that it is impossible he will not have the cash needed to bring in a suitable target.

Ashworth leaves Man Utd

Ashworth left Man Utd on Sunday in a shock announcement after just five months in the job.

A decision to part ways was agreed in a meeting with Man Utd chief executive Omar Berrada following the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.

“Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement,” an official Man Utd statement read on Sunday.

“We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.”

According to David Ornsetin, Ratcliffe played an active role in the decision to part ways with Ashworth.

Although it was announced as a mutual decision, in truth Ashworth was pushed more than he jumped.

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The 53-year-old only officially started his job as Man Utd sporting director on July 1.

This came after an exhaustive and controversial pursuit of Ashworth from Newcastle United, which was marred by legal problems and resulted in a significant compensation package having to be paid to secure the sporting director.

Indeed, Ashworth had been on gardening leave for a lengthy period of time until he could begin his job at Old Trafford.

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Despite all the time, effort and money that went in to bringing Ashworth to United, he has lasted just five months in the job.

The news comes as a bombshell given Ashworth was supposed to play a key role in the rebuild of United after over a decade of struggles on and off the pitch.

Ashworth played an active role in Man Utd’s summer spending spree which saw almost €250 million spent on the likes of Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee.

So far this season, United have continued to struggle. They are 13th in the Premier League and have already changed manager once with Ruben Amorim replacing Erik ten Hag.