MANCHESTER UNITED are closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim to become their new manager.
The Athletic claims talks have intensified on Monday evening, just hours after United brutally sacked Erik ten Hag.
And it’s believed Amorim has already verbally agreed to take charge at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils appearing to beat rivals Man City to his signature.
Ten Hag was given his marching orders after Sunday’s dismal defeat at West Ham.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been put in charge as interim United boss ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie with Leicester.
But he may not get a go against Chelsea in the league next Sunday, with Sporting boss Amorim firmly in Ineos’ sights.
It’s reckoned Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co are deep in talks with the tactician, who has won two titles in the Portuguese capital.
And Amorim has already given the green light to a stunning deal which could yet see him in charge for Wednesday’s game against Leicester.
Former midfielder Amorim, 39, is regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young coaches.
He had been tipped as Pep Guardiola’s potential replacement at Man City should the Spaniard leave next summer.
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The champs raided Sporting earlier this month for footy chief Hugo Viana, who starts his new role in 2025.
And many saw it as an indication that Amorim had been selected by City to eventually take charge following Guardiola’s exit.
Ruben Amorim’s career stats
Playing career:
- Belenenses, 2003-2008: 106 games, 5 goals
- Benfica, 2008-2015: 154 games, 6 goals
- Braga (loan), 2011-2013: 46 games, 5 goals
- Al-Wakrah (loan), 2015-2016: 14 games, 2 goals
- Portugal, 2010-2014: 14 games, 0 goals
- Trophies: Primeira Liga x3, Portuguese Cup, Portuguese League Cup x5, Portuguese Super Cup (Benfica); Portuguese League Cup (Braga)
Managerial career
- Casa Pia, July 2018-Jan 2019: P4 W3 D0 L1
- Braga B, Sept 2019-Dec 2019: P11 W8 D2 L1
- Braga, Dec 2019-March 2020: P13 W10 D1 L2
- Sporting, March 2020-Present: P237 W170 D34 L33
- Trophies: Portuguese League Cup (Braga); Primeira Liga x2, Portuguese League Cup x2, Portuguese Super Cup (Sporting)
It’s not the first English job Amorim has been linked with, as SunSport revealed he was targeted by Chelsea in 2023 before Mauricio Pochettino took charge.
Amorim was then tipped as a potential successor to Jurgen Klopp when the German announced he would be quitting Liverpool earlier this year.
And in April, Amorim sensationally jetted to London for talks with West Ham before calling their contact “a mistake.”
Sporting would be reluctant to see the ace leave, with Amorim transforming their fortunes on the pitch following his arrival in 2020.
But United are willing to pay £8m to prise him from his contract in Portugal and bring him to Old Trafford to spearhead Ratcliffe’s revolution.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Amorim was asked by local media whether he would be interested in taking the Red Devils job.
Amorim gave a coy answer, saying: “I was already expecting this question and obviously I’m not going to talk about the future, because otherwise I’ll always have to comment. I’m very proud to be Sporting coach, that’s all.”
Sporting play Nacional in the Portuguese Cup tomorrow night and it remains to be seen whether Amorim is on the sideline for the clash.
The former Benfica star and Portugal international has favoured a 3-4-3 system during his time at Sporting, with his key men including Ivorian centre-back Ousmane Diomande, Japanese midfielder Hidemasa Morita and Portuguese forward Pedro Goncalves.
But Amorim’s main star is undoubtedly Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres, who has scored 56 goals in 63 games following a move from Championship Coventry City last year.
Sporting cruised to last season’s title with just two defeats all season while scoring 96 goals in the process.
And they currently lead the race in the new campaign with nine wins from nine, while also netting 30 goals and conceding just two in the process.
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THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would also have been a popular and gettable option – but England got in there first.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.
