RUBEN AMORIM is heading to Old Trafford – and now Manchester United should sign Viktor Gyokeres.
On the night Amorim started his three-game farewell tour at Sporting, former Coventry striker Gyokeres maintained his stunning record at the club with a hat-trick in the first 42 minutes before grabbing the fourth in the second half.
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The red-hot forward, a £20million bargain from the Championship, has now scored 20 goals in 16 games this season on top of his 43 strikes in 50 matches last term.
How United, the third lowest scorers in the Premier League, would love someone like the Swedish international.
Gyokeres’ opener was well placed from an acute angle while the next two – the third being a penalty – were just raw power.
His fourth in the 70th minute was a brilliant individual effort oozing with self confidence.
That was before Maximiliano Araujo made it five for the hosts minutes before full-time.
Yet United fans will hope their team do not defend under Amorim like the moment Sporting allowed Rodrigo Pinho to pull one back for 2-1 with an easy header.
As you would expect, the announcement of Amorim’s departure has been mixed here.
Outside the stadium, there was a banner which read: “Amorim, this is not your home anymore, thank you.”
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Other fans, though, took flags into the ground declaring their love for the coach who led the club to two titles.
When Amorim’s name was first read out 30 minutes before kick-off, there were whistles and jeers followed by applause.
But when the 39-year-old came out of the tunnel for the game, he received a standing ovation and applauded the fans.
Gyokeres said about Amorim and reports suggesting he could follow him to Manchester: “We’re sad to see him go. He did an extraordinary job here. We all wish him the best.
“Follow him to Manchester? I don’t know, I’m here and I like it here. I don’t think about it.”
Speaking after the game, Amorim ruled out a move for Gyokeres, or any Sporting player in January.
And the incoming Red Devils chief even put his own very lofty price-tag on the Swedish striker.
Amorim said: “Gyokeres costs 100 million (£84m) and it’s very difficult.
“I’m not going to get any players from Sporting in January.”
Another player who enjoyed a good reception from the home supporters was former United winger Nani.
He started his career at Sporting and the 37-year-old came on as a second half sub for Estrela.
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
