A worrying Newcastle United update has emerged on former Brighton chief Dan Ashworth... 

What's the talk?

Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has revealed that the ex-FA supremo is set to be made to wait until after the summer transfer window to link up with the Magpies.

Ashworth left the Seagulls earlier this year and is being eyed up by the Toon to work with Eddie Howe to build the club moving forward.

Hope Tweeted: "Dan Ashworth could be made to wait until November before taking up NUFC sporting director role. Negotiations with Brighton continue but no progress yet. Club relaxed if Howe/Nickson/Staveley oversee summer transfers, as was case in Jan. Scouting meetings this wk."

He added: "Told that Ashworth has a nine-month notice period and, as it stands, will be made to see it out. Brighton not making it easy for him to join Newcastle, as is their right."

Fuming

This update will surely leave supporters fuming as this news comes as a big blow to the club and their plans heading into next season.

Whilst PIF may be 'relaxed' over the situation, having a cloud of doubt hovering over the sporting director role throughout the summer is not ideal.

Ashworth may have ideas about who he would like the club to be signing and what direction he wants the team to go in with Howe and that may not perfectly align with what Steve Nickson does before he arrives.

This means that decisions could be taken throughout the next window that the ex-Brighton chief then has to work around and look to rectify. It is a difficult situation for all parties involved and it will be frustrating for the club as they will need to navigate a second window in a row without a sporting director in place.

Whilst the Magpies were able to bring in the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier, they also struggled towards the end of the window. Howe wanted a striker and an attacking midfielder on deadline day and the Toon failed to complete moves for Hugo Ekitike and Jesse Lingard as they left those particular pieces of business too late in the window.

This illustrates what can go wrong without a dedicated sporting director in place to assist Howe to get deals over the line. Therefore, supporters will be fuming that the club are now set go through another window in a similar fashion because of Ashworth's notice period.

AND in other news, Howe can unearth a new "outstanding" £20m gem in NUFC's rarely-seen Darsley Park star...