'Baffled' USMNT legend can't believe chaos at former club Man United

Ashworth only joined United five months ago following a protracted saga to bring him to Old Trafford from Newcastle. But now, less than a season later, he is on his way out.

The official statement noted that Ashworth's departure came as a result of a 'mutual agreement' between the sporting director and the club.

But speaking on NBC's Premier League coverage, Tim Howard and former teammate Gary Neville both questioned the truth around that 41-word farewell message.

"The issue for me is that it's nearly impossible to run a football club, so many things happen, and that's okay," Howard commented.

"So when you get something wrong even if it's as big as Dan Ashworth, just come out and say you got it wrong.

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"Because you're getting a lot of things right under their stewardship. It's a big one but what you do by not being transparent is just leave more questions than answers at a time at Manchester United where there's already speculation, already a lack of trust.

"When you look at this and you talk about him being headhunted from Newcastle, it can't just be about decisions, it has to be down to personality or a clash of personality which I find hard to believe because you've gone after this person, you've spent millions of pounds, you've done your homework.

"So the fact that there's possibly a clash of personalities surprises me because if you look at the decisions, they brought back Ten Hag in the summer, that was a collective decision, they backed the manager, they brought in signings.

"And then when you look at bringing in Ruben Amorim, that was a big Omar Berrada call. So I'm baffled a little bit as to how it's gone pear-shaped so quickly."

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United, under new ownership INEOS, spent much of the past year recruiting Ashworth from Newcastle and eventually had to pay a multi-million pound settlement to release him from his contract at St James' Park.

The understanding was that Ashworth would be a pivotal leader within Jim Ratcliffe's enhanced football set-up alongside new CEO Berrada but just months later, the sporting director is gone.

"Something like that can't be mutual," Neville told NBC's Rebecca Lowe of the club's statement on the issue.

"I think when INEOS came into Manchester United, everyone knew there was going to be huge changes. There have been massive redundancies within the club, complete overhaul in terms of the executive running of the club…CFO, CEO, sporting director, technical director, manager most recently.

"You would have expected large changes but not for this position. Dan Ashworth was headhunted for many many months, he was chased for about ten months, was on gardening leave for about four months, and was paid many millions.

"I worked with Dan Ashworth at the FA for about two years, he's been very successful wherever he's been. Brighton, West Brom, the FA, Newcastle most recently.

"I'm really shocked this morning that this has happened and it's not a great look at all, it's going to need some explaining. And I think the statement the club put out this morning is really poor.

"Manchester United haven't had a voice for ten years, they've lost their authority, they've lost their boldness. I think they've been getting it back a little bit in the last 12 months but what's really clear is that there's a fracture here, something has happened.

"You can't bring someone in at the level of Dan Ashowrth and then lose him after five months and not think something has gone wrong.

"Fans are going to speculate about what's gone wrong, it's going to leave huge voids. I think you're better off punching us in the face with the truth sometimes when it's so obvious that something has gone wrong."

Reports have highlighted a potential fissure between Ashworth and majority shareholder Ratcliffe while the appointment of Berrada in a role that crosses over into the football running of the club, further seemed to reduce Ashworth's influence.

According to the Athletic, the 53-year-old is expected to have a slew of offers including potentially Arsenal, who are searching for a new sporting director of their own following the departure of Edu in November.

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United were beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford last weekend, a result which leaves them 13th in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of the top four.

While it's still the earliest days of new manager Ruben Amorim's time in charge, he has a mammoth job on his hands to salvage anything from the current season as United sit in their lowest ever position in the Premier League table after 15 games.