Ex West Brom Technical Director Dan Ashworth departs Brighton

Ashworth, who cut his teeth in the game at Peterborough and Cambridge, served as Albion's Technical Director from 2007 to 2012 - and was credited with bringing in a host of talented players during his time at the club.

Following a spell with England he joined Brighton - and has had success with the Seagulls.

However - the club has now confirmed Ashworth has left his post and been placed on gardening leave ahead of taking up a new role which is believed to be a similar position at Newcastle United.

In a statement, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said: "We are sorry to learn of Dan’s decision. He’s been an important part of the club’s senior management team since joining us from The FA, and has made a significant contribution to our club’s progress in the Premier League and Women’s Super League.

“On a personal level, I will be sad to see Dan leave as we’d developed a close day to day working relationship. Dan’s been an excellent colleague and has become a good friend as well. I wish Dan and his family well for the future.

“However, as is the case with all top-quality people in any industry, we are always conscious of the risk of losing key staff to a rival. With that in mind, we always put in place contingencies and succession plans that are designed to minimise the impact on our club.

“As such, our assistant technical director, David Weir, will now step up and assume the role of acting technical director. He is someone with an excellent knowledge of the role and of our club’s culture from working side-by-side with Dan.

“As previously, we will conduct a search process for the role of technical director, as it is only right to do so. We anticipate a lot of high-calibre applicants but we also fully expect and hope David will be a candidate in this process.”