Report: Dan Ashworth's Manchester United move in jeopardy as talks with Newcastle United stall

Dan Ashworth's proposed move to Manchester United has hit a roadblock as Newcastle United stand firm on their asking price to release him from his contract.

Newcastle and Manchester United have been locked in talks over a compensation package that would see Dan Ashworth released from his contract early so he could start work at Man United sooner rather than later.

Ashworth is currently on gardening leave while the two clubs thrash out a deal, although HITC now claims that those talks are on shaky ground.

Newcastle are apparently refusing to back down from their £20million asking price and Man United are unwilling to meet their demands.

Newcastle United

We love it when things don't go Manchester United's way

We're not laughing, you're laughing. Okay, we're laughing. But only a bit. Okay, a lot.

Newcastle's search for Ashworth's replacement continues while his future, apart from the fact that he will no longer be working for Newcastle, is now unclear. He may have to end up seeing out the remainder of his contract on gardening leave.

While that will cost Newcastle money as the club would have to keep paying his salary for that period, the sheer joy we'll get from knowing that it's stifling Manchester United's vision has to make it worthwhile.

What will Dan Ashworth's Newcastle United legacy be?

Obviously, we expect that the deadlock will be broken at some point as Newcastle won't want to be paying Ashworth for not doing anything for another 18 months, but we do take some perverse pleasure in seeing Manchester United not getting what they want.

As many people have liked to point out over the last 24 hours, Ashworth's legacy at Newcastle now may well be failing to do his due diligence on Sandro Tonali and therefore not spotting his gambling problem before making a £55million bid.

Whatever his legacy is, it is unlikely to be a positive one after turning his back on the club so soon after joining.