Maybe, I hope it's this. Or it's not too far from the truth and that's why they can't agree with Tuchel or Poch.
I mean obviously neither us will ever know for sure but Dan Ashworth when he was at Brighton is on the record as saying that he never buys any player that the head coach does not approve of because then the coach will just not play that player and you've wasted your money. And he was at Brighton, what, two years ago? If he's willing to give the coach a say at Brighton - the platonic ideal for a no managers, head coach only, we sign players based on a state-of-the-art data analytics model specially created by the owner's other company (StarLizard) - I don't see why he wouldn't be willing to do the same at United.
He famously had a "three green lights" model he operated with at Brighton -
1. They identify positions they want to strengthen based on input from the coach. They then identify players they want for those positions using the Starlizard model. The scouting team then goes and watches these players in person and prepares a report. If the scouts like the player, that becomes the first green light.
2. The scout report, with accompanying data and video analysis, is then presented to the manager to review. If the manager is happy with the player, that becomes the second green light.
3. The finance team set a budget for each position and reach out to the other club to get an assessment on willingness to sell/numbers involved. If the numbers make sense to the finance team, that becomes the third green light.
(They also just generally keep an eye out for players whose numbers really pop out on their model and try to sign them but that you would expect any recruitment team to do, no? That is akin to United keeping an eye on Cristiano Ronaldo or Javier Hernandez just because they seem like interesting punts, as opposed to signing Van Der Sar or Van Persie with a clear idea of where they fit into the first team/squad)
If Ashworth gets three green lights, Brighton start serious negotiations to sign the player. Again, the manager has a clear say - he decides which position to strengthen in the squad and he also gets to say no if he's not convinced by the scouting report.
I mean he could come to United and change his approach to consolidate more power but that doesn't seem to align with the rest of his career. Honestly, just watch any interview with Ashworth and he seems like the boring, sensible type. He's not really a football *********** like, say Rangnick, or a transfer guru like Monchi. Whether that makes him a good fit for United's needs, we'll have to wait to find out.