DAN ASHWORTH has reportedly left Manchester United.
The sporting director has been at Old Trafford for just five months.
SunSport exclusively revealed three weeks ago how United's new hierarchy were locked in a blame game over their summer business.
Ashworth joined the club in July following a lengthy period of gardening leave after he quit Newcastle.
The 53-year-old was appointed by Man Utd to oversee "performance, recruitment and operations", with the Red Devils agreeing to pay £3million in compensation to the Toon.
But following showdown talks with CEO Omar Berrada after the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest last night, The Athletic claim Ashworth has quit by mutual consent.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to have been pivotal in the call to part ways.
Ashworth played a huge role United's £183million summer spending spree in the first transfer window under Ineos leadership.
The club signed Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui.
Ashworth was also involved in the decision to initially keep Erik ten Hag and hand him a new contract, only to for him to be sacked just 14 games later.
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
The former FA chief was quoted in the statements confirming every signing.
But we did not hear from him on Ten Hag's axing or on the appointment of Ruben Amorim.
Ashworth's departure comes as a huge shock to many, with one fan saying: "This is embarrassing from Ineos."
Ratcliffe previously hailed Ashworth as "clearly one of the top sporting directors in the world".
But yesterday he suggested United are still miles behind where they need to be when it comes to transfers.
Ratcliffe said: "We’ve not been good enough at recruitment, you probably agree with that. Everybody would agree with that.
"And until we’re as good as anyone in the world, then it’s not good enough for Manchester United.
"We must have the best recruitment in the world. Data Analysis comes alongside recruitment. It doesn’t really exist here. We’re still in the last century on data analysis here.
“There’s an immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we’re in the ‘very poor’ bracket with data analysis here.
"These things don’t happen overnight. You can’t just flick a light switch and sort out recruitment. It’s all about people and we need to find the right people."
As for Amorim, he says he wants the final say on transfers, explaining: "Everybody has to work together and for that we have to improve the process of recruitment, the data, the profile of players we want.
"But I have to have a strong position on that because I am the coach. I know how to play, so I think it's all together but the final word should be the manager.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"Not just because it's your right but your responsibility. Because, in the end, the result is to me, so I think it's all together to improve the process of recruitment.
"I have a great responsibility when we choose players because this is something that should be done this way. I'm the manager, the head coach, so I have to choose the players."
Who is Dan Ashworth?
DAN ASHWORTH is a true footballing man who has progressed through the game's ranks all the way from player to club director.
He never made it to the top as a player, instead featuring for a number of non-league sides and in the US.
After hanging up his boots he quickly moved into the backroom, landing his first job at Peterborough.
His big break came at West Brom, before he moved on to the Three Lions job where he was instrumental in creating 'England's DNA'.
Two roles with Premier League clubs followed before Man Utd swooped in the summer.
So what's next for Ashworth?
READ HIS FULL STORY HERE:
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.