Exclusive: Newcastle move to hijack Bournemouth deal revealed

Newcastle United tried to hijack Bournemouth’s deal for their new football chief Tiago Pinto, sources have told Football Insider.

Pinto was appointed president of football operations at the Vitality Stadium last month after being granted his work permit.

Details around the 36-year-old’s work-permit hearing were first revealed by Football Insider on 23rd May after he agreed to join Bournemouth following his recent departure from Roma. His appointment was confirmed 24 hours later.

Newcastle also spoke to Pinto as they looked to hire him as Dan Ashworth’s replacement as sporting director after he agreed a deal with Manchester United and was placed on gardening leave by his employers. 

But the Portuguese decided not to join the north-east giants due to concerns over the role on offer at St James’ Park and the extent of his powers.

Newcastle failed in bid to appoint Tiago Pinto as Dan Ashworth replacement

Pinto replaced Richard Hughes as Bournemouth’s new football chief after he previously held the position of sporting director for 10 years before deciding to join Liverpool in March.

The Portuguese has a decent amount of experience at top clubs after spending three years at Roma following his previous spell at Benfica.

During his time in the Italian capital, he worked closely with former Roma manager Jose Mourinho and helped the club lift the Europa Conference League trophy in 2022.

That prompted Newcastle to hold talks with Pinto about a potential move to St James’ Park, but they couldn’t reach an agreement and are no closer to appointing Ashworth’s successor.

A deal for Dougie Freedman was believed to be progressing well before Football Insider revealed on 22 May he had turned down Newcastle’s offer to remain at Crystal Palace.

The Tynesiders are still locked in talks over the compensation fee for Ashworth, with Man United reportedly wanting to pay £3million and St James’ Park chiefs demanding up to £15million plus add-ons.

Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness told Football Insider the Manchester giants should have wrapped up the deal months ago as he blasted Sir Jim Ratcliffe for how he’s handled the situation.

In other news, a new update has emerged on the future of Bruno Guimaraes.

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The post Exclusive: Newcastle move to hijack Bournemouth deal revealed appeared first on Football Insider.