Man Utd summer transfer plans on hold as 'stalemate' continues with Newcastle

Manchester United 's summer plans are on hold as they refuse to pay Newcastle United's £20million compensation fee for Dan Ashworth.

The Red Devils have targeted the Magpies' sporting director as they look to bolster their talent off the field. Sir Jim Ratcliffe went after Ashworth, who previously impressed with England and Brighton, with the Newcastle chief keen to make the switch.

He's since been placed on gardening leave by the St James' Park hierarchy. The Daily Mail reports that both Newcastle and the Manchester outfit are ready to go into the summer without a sporting director in place as the Red Devils stand firm on their compensation stance.

As a result incoming chief executive Omar Berrada is expected to take charge of negotiations and their transfer activity in the interim. Recruitment is a major area Ratcliffe wants to target with United continuing to come up short in that area, which has hampered their success.

Newcastle meanwhile are content with letting head of recruitment Steve Nixon mastermind their activity in the market. They only bought Ashworth into the fold in 2022 and are loathe to let him join a team they view as a future rival given their own ambitions.

Ratcliffe has continued to build his team in the board room with the Ineos chief already landing Berrada from rivals Manchester City. Several possible sporting directors were considered, including Michael Edwards before his return to Liverpool, but the club settled on Ashworth.

When Newcastle announced their sporting director had been placed on gardening leave their CEO, Darren Eales, said: "We are naturally disappointed that Dan has chosen to leave, however our exciting journey doesn't stop and the process to recruit a new sporting director will begin