Man Utd sporting director Ashworth gives deadline day transfer update: ‘I had a few missed calls’

Man Utd sporting director Dan Ashworth insists his phone “was vibrating” throughout the Europa League draw as deadline day ramps up.

The Red Devils have been in the shadow of local rivals Man City for the last decade since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe hopes to change that after purchasing a minority stake in Man Utd which gives his INEOS group control over football operations at Old Trafford, and earlier this year set out his determination to knock City and Liverpool “off their perch”.

Man Utd have made a good start to doing that by bringing in Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, while a deal to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte is set to be confirmed today.

There have been a number of links to players leaving Man Utd, including Jadon Sancho, but very few coming in with Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling rumoured as a potential addition .

But Ashworth, who joined Man Utd from Newcastle in the summer, has given the Red Devils fans some hope of more activity before the end of the window.

When asked by Daily Mail reporter Mike Keegan about potential transfers before the deadline, Ashworth replied : “I had a few missed calls (in the draw). I kept getting nudged from Sir Dave Brailsford! My phone was vibrating. Let’s see what happens. The window is still open. We’ve got some conversations going on.”

On life at Man Utd so far, Ashworth added: “Love it, it’s a fantastic opportunity for me, it’s a brilliant football club to be involved in and I’ve loved every minute of our first eight weeks and I’m really looking forward to the season ahead.”

Man Utd host Liverpool on Sunday in a huge Premier League match with the Red Devils looking to bounce back from their last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Brighton last weekend.

Former Red Devils striker Louis Saha was asked what changes he would make to face Liverpool at the weekend, to which he replied to Betfred: “It would be nice to see Joshua Zirkzee start. He’s a player that’s very interesting and gets involved in the right places. I’d like to see his game improve with more minutes and confidence.

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“Mason Mount has been very active but from an attacking midfielder, that’s not enough. He needs to push himself more because there are players on the bench waiting to take his place.

“For Sunday’s game though, I’d definitely like to see a striker up top because even though the false nine works sometimes in terms of pressing, that’s not the mission. The mission is to score goals.”

On whether defeat to Liverpool would pile pressure on Erik ten Hag at this stage of the season, Saha added: “There’s going to be pressure, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be sacked. If they lose heavily or they put in a bad performance, then he’s going to be under pressure. In football, when you’re winning it’s fine and when you lose, it can change very quickly.

“He was saved last season by winning the FA Cup, that’s for sure, but as with all of his players, the manager also needs to improve. I’m sure everybody around the manager is working very hard and I just want to see goals, fight and passion.

“I think we’re getting there but there’s also new signings that are going to need time to adapt. Zirkzee’s seemed to have adapted quite quickly and I’m sure the manager will be boosted by that.”