Simon Jordan has stated that ‘Liverpool didn’t want’ Dan Ashworth after Newcastle United confirmed that he will be their new sporting director, as he told talkSPORT.
The 51-year-old resigned from his technical director role at Brighton back in February and will now sit in the St James’ Park boardroom.
Ashworth brings a vast amount of experience to the table, including his roles with the England FA and at West Brom.
Newcastle are in transition, both on and off the pitch, following the take-over of their new Saudi-led ownership.
And bringing in someone like Ashworth is a big coup for the Magpies because he has made game-changing moves wherever he has gone.
Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan thinks the job Ashworth has is a bit of both, regarding difficulty, because on one hand, he has a lot of money to splash, but on the other, there is big pressure on his shoulders.
“It’s probably a bit of both (an easy and hard job at Newcastle) because he’s not turning water into wine,” said Jordan. “He will have the financial support to develop the opportunities to meet the exceptions, which we are yet to determine of these owners.
“Ashworth comes with a reputation. Some of it is well-earned. And some of it is overblown.
“If you look at his involvement in the evolution at St Goerge’s and the next generation of English footballers that have been very successful. You look at the involvement at West Brom and Brighton. You can’t look at the Brighton recruitment policy and say ‘they aren’t very good’ because they are very good.
“If we are to believe that Newcastle are going to ‘rip it up’, then he has the most ideal and challenging of jobs.
“Ashworth would have been a get. None of the other big clubs wanted him. Man United didn’t want him. Liverpool didn’t want him. They have other people, like Michael Edwards and so forth.”
BRIGHTON RECRUITMENT IS PROOF THAT NEWCASTLE WILL DO WELL
When it comes to spending, Brighton are the complete opposite to what Newcastle United are now.
They don’t splash the cash in a crazy fashion and they have to look for those gems in the transfer market.
The likes of Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster and Marc Cucurella are prime examples of that because they have been outstanding for Graham Potter.
And, in truth, the Magpies have already got off to a great start because their January transfer business was outstanding.
So, all in all, things are looking up for the Toon Army faithful, who probably haven’t looked forward to a season as much as the next one for a very long time.
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