Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent Aden-Jay Wood reckons that Dan Ashworth is likely to join Newcastle United as their new Director of Football (DoF). 

The lowdown

The Athletic's David Ornstein reported on Monday that the Seagulls had given Newcastle permission to speak to Ashworth about fulfilling the position.

Initial contact has been made, and formal talks are 'likely to happen in due course'. It apparently isn't the 'style' of the south coast club to deprive their employees of appealing opportunities when they arise.

Newcastle have previously been linked with former Chelsea and AS Monaco technical director Michael Emenalo. The Telegraph reported (via Sky Sports) that he had turned down The Magpies, although co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi insisted this was not the case.

The latest

Wood took to Twitter to provide the latest on Ashworth being linked with the DoF role at St James' Park and is resigned to the 50-year-old departing Brighton.

He tweeted: "If Dan Ashworth goes (which I think he will), it will be a huge shame. Ashworth has almost singlehandedly changed Brighton’s approach both on and off the field and would be very, very difficult to replace."

The verdict

Perhaps in an ideal world, Newcastle would have got their new DoF installed in time for the start of the January transfer window, but that appears very unlikely now.

They have at least managed to appoint Nick Hammond, the former Celtic and Reading director of football, in a temporary consultancy role. He may oversee signings designed to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, with Ashworth then taking the reins to guide them forward from thereon.

Ashworth did tell The Athletic in February 2020 that he hoped to be at the Amex Stadium for 'many years to come', but perhaps the Newcastle project would simply be too good to turn down given the sheer extent of wealth at their disposal.

In other news, Newcastle have offered this Brazilian beast a contract