Neville says Man Utd were 'NAIVE' not to have a sporting director for 10 years

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has called his former club 'naïve' after years of operating without a sporting director.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Wednesday that the Red Devils are on the cusp of reaching an agreement with Newcastle over sporting director Dan Ashworth, who is keen on swapping St James' Park for Old Trafford.

The 52-year-old is seen as the best in the business by incoming Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team, and the focus of his remit would be recruitment.

Ashworth has not had as much control as he expected at Newcastle, the club he joined in the summer of 2022.

There has been no fallout but it is thought the lure of the project at Man United, and his relationship with INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford, has persuaded him the time is right to move on.

Discussing Ashworth's imminent move to Old Trafford on the Stick to Football podcast by Sky Bet, Neville urged that Manchester United have been 'naïve' and lost out on millions during negotiations without a sporting director.

'Agents have a bad reputation in football, but ultimately, they won't do someone over that they work well with, because they won't get the next gig. If an agent screwed over Liverpool, that agent wouldn't work with Liverpool again and it would spread quite quickly,' Neville said.

'Manchester United haven't had a sporting director for the last 10 years, so they've been so naïve at that level. I imagine when they've been dealing with agents, if United called you, you knew you were going to get another £20-30million because they were naïve and didn't have a relationship with agents.'

Recruitment is Ratcliffe's number one priority at Manchester United, with the rebuild of Old Trafford secondary.

INEOS