Dan Ashworth: Did Man Utd sporting director pay price for club’s mediocrity?

When Ashworth walked through the Old Trafford press conference room after Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by Nottingham Forest, accompanied by United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche, it was felt he was merely leaving the stadium via a different exit than usual.

In actuality, the seal was being put on his exit.

Some figures at Old Trafford are speculating that this may be an assertion of authority by Berrada, who did not appoint Ashworth, and will be more familiar with his former Manchester City colleague Jason Wilcox, now United’s technical director. Others are wondering what it may mean for Brailsford, who has just lost a key ally.

Ashworth, should he choose, will not be out of work for long. Arsenal and Everton have already been linked with the man credited with revolutionising England’s age group teams and that wonderful summer in 2017 when they won the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups.

He was also part of a transformation at Brighton – although owner Tony Bloom and chief executive Paul Barber deserve most of the credit for that.

He wasn’t at Newcastle long enough for any honest assessment but no-one involved has stepped up to accept responsibility for the £55m signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, given he was banned for 10 months for betting breaches just three months after joining.

However, the speed of his exit will raise huge question marks over how United is being run.

One source responded to the news of Ashworth’s exit by saying it was “humiliating” for the Ineos hierarchy. Another simply stated: “Too many cooks.”