Manchester United can use Dan Ashworth to land a generational midfield transfer

For two successive seasons now, Newcastle and Manchester United have been on a par with each other.

Last season, the two clubs were competing for Champions League places and both won them, with the Magpies' fourth-place finish viewed as a major over-achievement while United finishing in third was just above expectations. This season, both have slipped to seventh and eighth respectively, with managers Erik ten Hag and Eddie Howe quick to cite injuries as the prime reason for their struggles.

But Newcastle are still given far more credit than United. Whether you agree or disagree with that depends on your view of the cash injection that's given the Tyneside club a helping hand in recent years, as well as the mismanagement of United on and off the pitch.

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What seems certain is that United will become better run in the boardroom and at executive level in the coming years, thanks in no small part to new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.

One of their first moves has been to hire Newcastle's Dan Ashworth as sporting director, with INEOS even willing to undergo a complex and expensive process to prise him away from St James' Park.

Ashworth's arrival at Old Trafford has been delayed due to such complications, but he will waste little time going to work when he finally does come through the doors.

The new-look recruitment team led by Ashworth and Jason Wilcox will be tasked with modernising United's transfer process. For too long they've lagged behind rivals in the transfer window and it's time for United to boast the best in class.

Signing a Newcastle player, then, will hardly be