Newcastle United fans may have been somewhat surprised to see Harrison Ashby feature in the BBCâs Match of the Day graphic.
Ashby joined Newcastle United in January 2023 from West Ham but has never actually made a competitive appearance for the club.
The defender has spent time out on loan at Swansea and QPR in the Championship but remained on Tyneside during the summer transfer window.
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Eddie Howe did use the 24-year-old in pre-season and Ashby was included in Newcastle Unitedâs 25-man Premier League squad for the 2025/26 season.
Still, the 24-year-old hasnât made the bench at all, and a thigh injury has limited him to only six appearances for the U21 side.
It was a surprise, then, that the BBC saw fit to use him on a graphic.
Match of the Day make Harrison Ashby blunder
Match of the Day, of course, is the BBCâs iconic football highlights show that has been running since 1964.
The fixtures are piling up thick and fast over the festive break, meaning the graphics team are no doubt working around the clock to keep up with all the games.
However, in their graphic for the December 30th show, the BBC iPlayer showed Ashby stood alongside West Hamâs Freddie Potts and Manchester Unitedâs Diogo Dalot.
That was something of a strange choice, considering his total lack of action.
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The tagline was: âThe festive fixtures continue with six Premier League games, including Arsenal against Aston Villa and Wolvesâ trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.
âSean Dyche comes up against his former club when Nottingham Forest play Everton at The City Ground, Burnley host Newcastle at Turf Moor, Bournemouth go to Chelsea, and itâs West Ham versus Brighton at the London Stadium.
Newcastle United make Harrison Ashby available for transfer
Late last month, The Athletic revealed that Newcastle are open to selling Ashby on a permanent deal.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the right-back this month, given his lack of game time.
Newcastle paid around ÂŁ3million to sign Ashby but little about his time at the club would have raised his value.
As such, itâs difficult to see how the club see much of a return on their investment if he were to be sold.
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