'I Suspect...' - Stefan Borson suggests what Man United really paid Newcastle for Dan Ashworth

Manchester United have likely paid Newcastle United less than £10million to secure a deal for Dan Ashworth.

That is the view of former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the fee for the ex-Newcastle sporting director is likely to be in the region of £6-10million.

The north-east giants placed the 53-year-old on gardening leave in February after he agreed a deal to join Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new regime at Old Trafford.

The two Premier League clubs had previously been unable to agree a fee for Ashworth, with Newcastle demanding up to £20million for his services.

But with Eddie Howe’s side believed to be on the verge of a profit and sustainability (PSR) breach, an agreement was reached over a reported £10million compensation package.

Man United struck Dan Ashworth deal after Newcastle PSR concerns

Borson has insisted the fee is likely to be less than that figure due to Newcastle’s financial concerns leading up to the 30 June accounting deadline.

“I wouldn’t think the fee is more than £10million,” Borson told Football Insider.

“I would be surprised if it was £10million, so it’s probably a bit less than that.

“It sounds like Newcastle found themselves at the 11th hour close to breaching PSR and, therefore, even with the sales of Anderson and Minteh, they still needed a little bit extra to get over the line on PSR.

“They were a long way shorter than anyone really thought in terms of PSR.

“I was one of the people saying they were quite a long way short and even I probably didn’t quite realise how far away they were. They may have needed £60million.

“I suspect it’s somewhere around £6-10million that they’ve received for Ashworth and they probably did that deal at the 11th hour because they were slightly over a barrel.

“But it’s a good fee at the end of the day.

“I’m not sure whether they could have held him for the full 18 months, so they will probably be quite pleased with it.”

In other news, Man United plan to accept “huge” offer for star man.

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