Manchester United are refusing to be held to ransom over their pursuit of Dan Ashworth

Manchester United are standing by their £3million valuation of Dan Ashworth and are refusing to be forced to buy out Newcastle’s compensation demands for their sporting director.

Ashworth’s appointment is the next major change in co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s restructure, with manager Erik ten Hag remaining at Old Trafford, but the clubs are nowhere close to agreeing a deal for Ashworth.

Newcastle want £15m plus add-ons to get Ashworth out of contract after two years at St James’ Park and has been on gardening leave since it was made clear he wanted to join United.

Ratcliffe described Ashworth being on leave until 2026 as “absurd” when he spoke about the issue earlier in the year. But negotiations have stalled over the release of the former Football Association director.

Ashworth could take Newcastle to arbitration in a bid to force the move and get a third party to end the bitter row. United are understood to consider the demands unreasonable and have a tighter budget this summer for profit and sustainability rules.

Ratcliffe has made sweeping changes to United since his £1.3bn investment for a 27.7% stake in the club. Omar Berrarda has been recruited from rivals Manchester City as CEO and will start next month. Jason Wilcox started as technical director after arriving from Southampton, but no deal was completed for Ashworth.

“A bit silly, personally,” Ratcliffe said in February when discussing the situation. “I will not be dragged into this. What I think is completely absurd is to suggest that a man who is really good at his job sit in his garden for a year and a half.

“We had a very big conversation with City about Omar Berrada. When things were over, we resolved everything amicably. They could see why he wanted to take on this challenge.”

Ashworth is still being paid while on gardening leave with Newcastle and United wanted him to start in the summer.