Ratcliffe has once again shown a ruthless streak after his plan to fill the void left by Ashworth was revealed

Fabrizio Romano has explained why Sir Jim Ratcliffe was “not happy at all” with Dan Ashworth, while Manchester United have released a tellingly short statement confirming the executive’s exit. David Ornstein exclusively broke news of Man Utd and Ashworth parting ways on Sunday morning.

Ashworth was United sporting director for only five months. After all the attention on securing his services, this was not part of the plan