Manchester United are reportedly closing in on their top managerial target Ruben Amorim even though the Sporting Lisbon coach said “nothing is decided yet” when it came to him replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag. As United prepared on Wednesday to play their first game since they dismissed Ten Hag, facing Leicester in the League Cup at Old Trafford, behind the scenes 39-year-old Amorim appears to be their number one choice to take over the hotseat. United pulled the plug on Ten Hag’s two-year reign as manager on Monday after a 2-1 defeat by West Ham left them 14th in the Premier League.
Amorim quickly emerged as the leading contender to succeed the Dutchman and Sporting issued a statement to the Lisbon stock exchange on Tuesday confirming United were willing to meet his 10-million-euro ($10.8 million) release clause.
Sky Sports on Wednesday quoted a source at Sporting saying Amorim’s move at Old Trafford was a “done deal”, but the club remained tightlipped.
Amorim was guarded when asked after Sporting’s League Cup win against Nacional on Tuesday if it was his last match with the club.
“Nobody knows whether this was my farewell match. Nothing is decided yet,” he said.
Despite spending heavily in the transfer market in the summer, Ten Hag paid the price for United’s poor start to the season.
They have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions.
United have appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim boss but Amorim, who is considered one of Europe’s leading young coaches, is reportedly the leading contender to take over on a permanent basis.
The former Portugal international midfielder has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.
He was briefly linked with the manager’s role at Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving and went as far as holding talks with West Ham this year, before they appointed former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui.
– ‘Age doesn’t matter’ –
Amorim would be one of the youngest managers in the Premier League if appointed by United.
But Pep Guardiola, who has guided United’s UAE-backed neighbours Manchester City to an unprecedented four successive Premier League titles, insisted Amorim’s age was not an issue.
“Why is it a problem?” said City manager Guardiola. “I started at Barcelona, at 37 years old, coming into the fourth division.
“Knowledge is knowledge. If you are able, it doesn’t matter…What’s important is talent. If you are good, age doesn’t matter,” the Spaniard added.
Van Nistelrooy, who will take charge against Leicester, said in the matchday programme he was “saddened” by Ten Hag’s departure.
The former United forward added it was “a great honour to manage the club I love for however long I am asked to do so”.
Whoever the new United manager is, they will inherit a squad largely built by Ten Hag that includes several players who have proven to be expensive failures.
The most glaring example is Antony, the Brazilian forward signed for nearly ã90 million from Ten Hag’s former club Ajax in 2022, who has scored just 12 goals in 87 appearances.
United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe reviewed Ten Hag’s progress in the summer after the club finished eighth in the league but won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
The club were also believed to have spoken to other potential managers but decided to retain Ten Hag and handed him millions for new players.
But Ten Hag was sacked because United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season.
The former Ajax coach, who joined United in May 2022, argued in his final days in charge he deserved respect for winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup a year later.
In comments embargoed until Tuesday, Ten Hag said before the Leicester match he thought winning a trophy in his third season would make it a success.
“Definitely, it’s about trophies,” he said. “If you win a trophy in pro football, that is most important because that is what the fans expect and what we expect.”
Since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after leading United to a record 20th league title, five full-time managers have come and gone at Old Trafford.
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