Ashworth, the former technical director of the Football Association, has been heavily linked with taking up a similar role with Newcastle United since December, and is believed to have been placed on gardening leave as the two Premier League rivals negotiate a compensation package for his services.<\/p>\n
Given the impact he had in helping Brighton progress as a football club over the past few seasons, it is understandable the club’s hierarchy were unwilling to see the 50-year-old leave on a cheap.<\/p>\n
Ashworth played a key role in attracting Graham Potter to The Amex Stadium in May 2019, and was also heavily influential in supporting the playing philosophy that currently has the Seagulls pushing for a top-half finish.<\/p>\n
He has also helped to maintained a footballing structure that has seen Brighton’s playing talent flourish across the women’s side and age-group teams, as well as the men’s team.<\/p>\n
The former Norwich youth team player’s background in developing young players meant he was important in carving out pathways for the likes of Ben White and Robert Sanchez to establish themselves as first-team regulars after loan spells in the Football League.<\/p>\n
Ashworth has been credited with playing a significant role in developing the ‘England DNA’ project during his time with the FA between 2012 and 2018,\u00a0helping to nurture the group of players that have reached a World Cup semi-final and European Championship final under the guidance of Gareth Southgate – offering another insight as to why Newcastle’s new ownership group are so keen to acquire his services.<\/p>\n
“I had lots of calls and conversations with Dan, I understood his position, it was a really tough decision for him.<\/p>\n
“He has got his family and his reasons, you have to respect that Dan is his own man, he\u2019s an intelligent man, he understands how good it is here, but at the same time, he\u2019s got another opportunity.<\/p>\n
“You have to respect that, that\u2019s how it is, then you\u2019ve got to trust that he will make the decision for him and then it\u2019s up to the club to sort the rest of it out. I respect Dan, what he has done for us, the decision he has made, and wish him well.”<\/p>\n
– Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The footballing structure at Brighton<\/a> means that former Scotland international David Weir was primed to step in as technical director on an interim basis by the time Ashworth’s departure was confirmed, with the situation set to be re-assessed at the end of the current season.<\/p>\n
The outgoing technical director was not the only individual at the Amex attracting admiring glances from elsewhere throughout January though.<\/p>\n
Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard last week confirmed that the Midlands club had seen a bid turned down for Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma during the transfer window, as speculation regarding the Malian international’s future intensifies.<\/p>\n
Bissouma showed his importance to Potter’s side during the 3-1 defeat at Tottenham in the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend, and his consistently excellent performances that stretch back to before the start of the current season,\u00a0combined with the fact Bissouma is now into the last 18 months of his contract, have seen the list of potential suitors for his signature grow.<\/p>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIt is natural for a club of Brighton’s current standing to have to accept their most impressive players will be of interest to wealthier rivals, but the on-field success enjoyed whilst Bissouma was with his country at the recent African Cup of Nations shows there is usually a contingency plan in place for potential departures.<\/p>\n
This has also been exemplified by the way in which Ben White’s move to Arsenal last summer for a club-record fee<\/a>\u00a0preceded the Seagulls’ best ever start to a Premier League campaign.<\/p>\n
However, it is not just Bissouma who is coming towards the end of his current deal among the members of Potter’s squad.<\/p>\n
Danny Welbeck and Pascal Gross are both out of contract in the summer, and whilst neither can be considered as important to the team’s fortunes on the pitch as Bissouma, they have made 30 appearances between them this season and have provided important contributions in a successful campaign so far.<\/p>\n
It is the contracts that expire in the same summer as Bissouma that are potentially a greater concern.<\/p>\n
The deals of experienced heads Shane Duffy, Joel Veltman and Adam Lallana are all up in 2023, but there are also a collection of current first-teamers in their prime that have just 18 months left on their current contracts.<\/p>\n
The fact that Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard and Alexis Mac Allister only have a year-and-a-half left on their respective deals will be most worrying for Brighton fans.<\/p>\n
Between the three of them, they have scored 17 of the team’s 25 Premier League goals this season. Striker Maupay is having his best season in front of goal for the club so far, Trossard has taken his game to a new level after only showing flashes of brilliance in his first two campaigns on the south coast, and Mac Allister has had something of \u00a0a breakthrough in recent months, establishing himself as a goal-scoring presence in midfield.<\/p>\n
It is quite possible that at least one of them would have moved on from the club for a significant transfer fee before now had the finances of clubs across Europe not been decimated by Covid-19. Losing the trio for free would undermine an important element of Brighton’s transfer strategy.<\/p>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe club’s ability to replace outgoing players and rejuvenate the playing squad is of course determined by incoming revenue, and therefore losing three important players for nothing would likely limit their capacity to find suitable replacements.<\/p>\n