The Englishman was expected to join Newcastle but the Magpies hit a snag in the talks

Newcastle United are set to appoint Dan Ashworth as their new director of football – but there is now a problem with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Newcastle have been chasing a new director of football since taking over in October.

The Magpies have been linked with naming a number of names from Michael Emenalo to Jason Wilcox; they haven’t named any yet.

Their main target of late has been Ashworth, who has built up a solid reputation during his spell at West Bromwich Albion, the FA and Brighton.

Ashworth was cleared to hold talks with Newcastle in December, and it looks like that move will happen now.

Ashworth resigned as technical director of Brighton earlier this week, with BBC sports reporting that the move to Newcastle is imminent.

There could however be a problem as it is now believed that there is a major valuation gap between Newcastle and Brighton, as reported by The Athletic.

As it stands, Ashworth will see his notice period before leaving Brighton. In order to cut short and immediately move to Newcastle, the Magpies must pay compensation.

At present, Brighton’s valuation exceeds what Newcastle are willing to pay and the deal is now at an impasse.

This notice period could last throughout the summer transfer window and into next season, which Newcastle absolutely do not want.

So they need to come up with a bigger and better to board Ashworth and plan well before the summer window.

Brighton are in a pretty strong position here, and Newcastle can’t afford to let this situation rumble on for months.

In other news, Gerrard admits Aston Villa rejected the offer for the Arsenal player, apparently a long-time admirer of