Newcastle considering Dougie Freedman as replacement for Dan Ashworth 

Newcastle United are reportedly considering Dougie Freedman to replace Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director. 

Ashworth has been on gardening leave since February after informing the club he wanted to join Manchester United. 

The Red Devils are keen to appoint the 53-year-old as their new sporting director but they are yet to agree a compensation fee with the Magpies. 

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle are now attempting to sign Crystal Palace chief Dougie Freedman. 

Freedman has been working for the Eagles since 2017 and is highly regarded for his work at Selhurst Park. 

He secured the loan signing of Connor Gallagher from Chelsea as well as permanent deals for Marc Guehi and Michael Olise. 

Newcastle face an important summer transfer window and want a new sporting director in place quickly.

They have had an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign as they are languishing in seventh with three points behind Manchester United. 

Eddie Howe’s men suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace in their latest league outing, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring a brace. 

They will now host Sheffield United on Saturday at St James’ Park, with the fixture available to watch via the Premier League live streams. 

The Magpies will be eager to return to winning ways this weekend and they couldn’t have hoped for better opponents than Sheffield United who are rooted to the bottom of the table with a meagre 16 points.