George Caulkin has provided an update on Newcastle United’s search for a director of football while speaking on Pod on the Tyne.
Newcastle looked to have all but secured the arrival of Dan Ashworth, as it was confirmed he would be leaving his role at Brighton & Hove Albion for another unnamed Premier League club, however, the Magpies and their Premier League rivals remain locked in negotiations over a compensation package.
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PIF decided to wait until after the crucial January transfer window to move for a director of football and their patience may well have paid off if they land Ashworth, but according to Caulkin, he was not the standalone candidate, with people inside and outside of football being discussed.
Caulkin dropped a fresh update on the search PIF undertook to find their director of football.
“[Staveley] talked about sort of entering a new digital era or new digital area where there’s so much going on, there are other ways of generating resource, albeit it wanting to make sure that whatever Newcastle were selling to their fans was the right thing.
“Our understanding is with that, they’re looking at people inside football, but they’ve also looked at people who have worked in similar positions outside football before. And it’s about getting the whole thing right.”
TIF Thoughts on Newcastle’s director of football search…
It’s quite interesting to find out that the Magpies were not just searching within the sport for a director of football and were willing to break the mould and go for someone that had worked in similar roles, but with little to no footballing experience.
However, if they can land Ashworth, especially before his gardening leave ends later this year, it would seemingly be a major coup given the work he’s done at the FA in laying the foundations for the England DNA, as Football Daily explained (3:15), as well as helping to ensure Brighton’s men’s and women’s teams are now established sides in the Premier League and Women’s Super League.
In other news: Newcastle fans will be euphoric as pitchside footage emerges