Finn Ashworth joined the Valiants on loan from Wolves in February 2025 but left without ever appearing in a Port Vale match day squad.
About Nearly Men
This is an occasional OVF series about transfer moves that failed to materialise or players who never ended up making an appearance for the club. In a parallel universe the likes of Steve Bull, Keith Gillespie and Tom Finney could all have played for the club, while there’s a host of trialists who never played a competitive game…
One of a number of outfield loan signings by Port Vale manager Darren Moore, midfielder Finn Ashworth remains an outlier. While fellow loanees Jerry Umolu, Rico Richards and Antwoine Hackford all featured in the team and goalkeeper Nathan Broome was named on the bench, Ashworth failed to even make the Port Vale first-team squad.
Ashworth’s lack of action could have been foreseen. When he was signed Moore said of the 19 year-old that “it isn’t a case of putting him straight into the action; we will give him the time he needs to settle in.” That proved to be the case as the midfielder departed at the end of the season without making his first senior appearance of his career.
Perhaps Moore was assessing the youngster for a future transfer? Perhaps he was helping Wolves or the player out by allowing him first-team training? Perhaps the player hadn’t developed as much as Vale expected when he arrived? For whatever reason, Ashworth joins our “Nearly Man” collection…
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