Outgoing Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto has revealed that he would be interested in replacing Dan Ashworth at Newcastle United if an offer is made to him.
Ashworth has been put on gardening leave since he made it clear to Newcastle that he would be keen to move to Old Trafford as Manchester United’s new sporting director.
Newcastle are yet to identify a potential replacement and there are suggestions that they could wait until after the summer transfer window to bring in the 52-year-old’s replacement.
Pinto, who will leave Roma at the end of the season, has been touted as one of the names Newcastle are believed to be looking at.
He admitted that if Newcastle wanted to talk to him, he would be more than interested and claimed that he has been tracking the Magpies’ development under the new owners over the last couple of years.
Pinto stressed that he would of course be interested in the kind of project Newcastle are carrying out at the moment.
“If a big club like Newcastle asks to speak to you, of course you’re interested”, Pinto told i News.
“I know the club’s story very well because Sir Bobby Robson was a big personality in Portugal and we associated him with Newcastle.
“I followed the club because of that passion.
“The work the new ownership has done has been very impressive – with a clever strategy they’ve come from a relegation fight to the Champions League so there’s huge potential at Newcastle.
“I don’t know if the interest is true or not but who would say no to a project like that?”
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle respond to Pinto’s open invitation to hold talks with him.
