John Murtough's Man Utd exit and what it means for Dan Ashworth & Jason Wilcox talks

Manchester United are continuing their internal restructure with John Murtough stepping aside as the club’s football director.

Murtough had long been expected to leave United following the onboarding of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as minority shareholder having purchased a 28% stake in the club this winter.

Ratcliffe has assumed control of footballing operations and Murtough was informed he would only be allowed to stay at United in a diminished role. He has decided to leave on his own terms and has not been forced out of the club.

United confirmed Murtough’s exit on Tuesday, with Ratcliffe saying in a statement: “We want to thank John for his loyal service over many years, and for his support and integrity during this period of transition.

“He leaves with our best wishes for the future.”

Co-chairman Joel Glazer added: “After 11 years of tireless work for the club, John has mutually agreed with us that now is the right time to step aside and allow the new football leadership structure to be put in place.

“He will always be welcome back at Manchester United as a friend of the club.”

Wilcox wants to join Man Utd / Catherine Ivill/GettyImages

90min understands Murtough’s responsibilities are set to be assumed by Southampton’s Jason Wilcox as technical director and Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth as sporting director, though United are continuing with negotiations to bring in the duo.

Wilcox is currently director of football at Southampton, and though he would be taking a step down in terms of job title if he joins United, such a move is still widely viewed as a major promotion – and in fact a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – by many in the football industry.

A sticking point with Southampton is they received a written commitment from United to pay over a year’s worth of Wilcox’s salary to them as compensation, but their latest offer only covered 12-months pay, much to the Saints’ dismay. United, however, insist they have been respectful in negotiations and followed due protocol.

United are ultimately relaxed about this situation for various reasons. Southampton’s demands are in the hundreds of thousands of pounds as opposed to the £20m that Newcastle are asking for to release Ashworth.

As such, Wilcox is expected to join United prior to the summer transfer window and begin his duties in the near future, arriving likely before incoming CEO Omar Berrada from Manchester City. The club are therefore not in a rush to cave to Newcastle’s hefty demands as much of their new footballing structure is likely to be in place in the coming months.

The arrivals of Wilcox and Ashworth are being treated as a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’, with United prepared to play a lengthy waiting game to bring in the latter to avoid paying a large sum to Newcastle, though it would not be surprising if he joins immediately after the summer window closes for a more modest fee.