NEWCASTLE UNITED are willing to do whatever it takes to keep Dan Ashworth at St James’ Park amid ongoing interest from Manchester United.

Ashworth was appointed as Newcastle’s sporting director in February 2022, with his role formally beginning at the start of the following summer, and has rapidly established himself as a key component of the club’s backroom operation.

Widely respected as one of the leading footballing administrators in the country following spells with the Football Association and at Brighton, the 52-year-old has played a key role in helping to formulate and deliver Newcastle’s recruitment policy alongside chief executive Darren Eales and head coach Eddie Howe.

Ashworth’s remit runs much wider than recruitment, however, and he has also played a leading role in the reorganisation of Newcastle’s academy, the infrastructural improvements that have taken place at the training ground and the promotion and growth of the women’s team.

He has quickly formed a strong relationship with co-owners Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben, and is regarded as a major part of the club’s ongoing development by senior figures within the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which is Newcastle’s majority owner.

However, he is also a man in demand, with the new ownership group at Manchester United desperate to prise him from Tyneside and install him as the new director of football at Old Trafford.

Manchester United announced on Boxing Day that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had agreed a deal to buy 25 per cent of the club from the Glazer family for £1.3bn. While the agreement still has to be ratified by the Premier League, it is expected that it will be formally confirmed within the next month.

At that stage, Ratcliffe will assume control of all footballing matters at Old Trafford, with former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford ready to begin work as a director as part of the new INEOS regime.

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Jean-Claude Blanc will replace Richard Arnold as Manchester United’s CEO, but one of Brailsford’s first tasks will be to appoint a new director of football, with Ashworth firmly established as his preferred choice.

The pair have a long-standing friendship and have worked together on a number of occasions in the past, with Brailsford adamant that Ashworth is the best person to oversee a radical restructure of Manchester United’s off-field operation.

The Newcastle hierarchy are aware of the situation, but remain confident that Ashworth will reject any advances from Old Trafford and opt to remain at St James’ Park.

There have been conflicting reports on that front this week, with some media outlets suggesting that Ashworth will opt to remain on Tyneside while others report that he is ready to jump ship for Manchester United.

What is known at this stage is that Ashworth has thoroughly enjoyed his time at Newcastle and regards the club’s development as a long-term project that is still in its formative stages. Sources claim that, ideally, the former FA chief would like to see things through and help the Magpies’ Saudi owners realise their ambition of leading a club that is solidly established in the Champions League and regularly competing for silverware on domestic and European fronts.

He enjoys the scope of his role at Newcastle, as well as the support he has received so far as he has attempted to address the stagnation that became so damaging under the previous regime led by Mike Ashley.

On the other hand, though, the same sources acknowledge that Ashworth values his relationship with Brailsford and accepts that the challenge of restoring Manchester United to its former glory is a one-off task that may never present itself again.

If he was to move to Old Trafford, he would effectively be able to begin with a completely clean slate, rebuilding the club from scratch. That could appeal as, to at least some extent, his role at St James’ Park will always be somewhat constrained by the whims of the PIF.

Meanwhile, Newcastle will offer Lewis Miley a new long-term contract once he turns 18 in May, and are confident of being able to keep the midfielder despite mounting interest from elsewhere.

Premier League rules prevent clubs from being able to offer Under-18 players anything longer than a three-year deal, so Miley is currently on the longest contract available to him.

That will change at the start of May though, and Newcastle are confident the teenager will agree to a new long-term deal that will stretch beyond 2026.

Miley has become a regular first-team starter in the last couple of months, and the term of his new deal will reflect his new senior status within Howe’s senior squad.