THE odds on who will replace Dan Ashworth at Manchester United have been revealed – and two familiar faces are in the market.
Ashworth, 53, has quit as sporting director just five months after arriving at Old Trafford.
He held crunch talks with CEO Omar Berrada after the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest last night and left by mutual consent, a United statement said.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly been pivotal in Ashworth’s exit and is now on the lookout for a new chief.
The bookies have Crystal Palace director of football Dougie Freedman (2/1) as the frontrunner.
Freedman, who came close to getting the job instead of Ashworth, has been credited for several successful Palace signings such as Marc Guehi and Michael Olise.
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BonusCodeBets have Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta (4/1) and Juventus’ Cristiano Giuntoli (6/1) next on their list.
United could get Lee Congerton (16/1) out of the former Leicester and Atalanta supremo’s contract at Al-Ahli.
While AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini is priced the same following his four years as the Italian giants’ technical director.
If Ratcliffe wants to poach another Newcastle chief like he did with Ashworth, his successor Paul Mitchell (20/1) could be an option.
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He was linked to the Man Utd job before Ineos’ takeover was completed last Christmas.
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Odds on Ashworth’s replacement
- Dougie Freedman – 2/1
- Andrea Berta – 4/1
- Cristiano Giuntoli – 6/1
- Lee Congerton – 12/1
- Paolo Maldini – 16/1
- Paul Mitchell – 20/1
- Julian Ward – 25/1
- Ralf Rangnick – 33/1
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – 50/1
via BonusCodeBets.
Ex-Liverpool chief Julian Ward (25/1) is another alternative, but he is currently working for Reds owner FSG.
Perhaps United will perform a shock U-turn and bring Ralf Rangnick (33/1) back after he never got to fill his planned role consultancy role due to him stepping in as interim boss.
The German claimed he needed to perform “open-heart surgery” to fix things at the club.
But he is unlikely to put his scrubs on as he is currently Austria’s manager.
But another ex-United boss who is out of work is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (50/1).
His return is highly unlikely given he has never been a sporting director before.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
