Ex-Man Utd sporting director Ashworth in Warwickshire role

Ashworth officially joined Manchester United on 1 July 2024 before leaving in December

Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth is working with Warwickshire County Cricket Club, advising on performance strategy.

However, sources have told BBC Sport this is a continuation of a voluntary role he took up with the club in 2021, and that it remains unpaid.

Ashworth left United in December just five months after joining from Newcastle United. The club revealed last week the episode had cost £4.1m.

The 53-year-old has worked in cricket before, as part of an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) high performance review in 2022.

"He's sat on our cricket audit committee in a voluntary capacity for some time along with people like Ian Bell and Asif Din, to offer advice on all aspects of cricket at the club," said a Warwickshire club spokesman.

On Monday United announced the club will make up to 200 jobs redundant to "return the club to profitability". That followed around 250 members of staff being made redundant last year.

Last week the club revealed a loss of £27.7m in their second quarter financial results and the Red Devils have lost more than £300m over the past three years.

Warwickshire finished seventh out of 10 in the County Championship last season, winning just once in 14 games, to stay up with 25 points to spare.

They lost in the T20 Blast quarter-finals for the fifth straight year - and also in the semi-finals of the One Day Cup.