Ruben Amorim insists that he will choose which players to sign for Manchester United as he looks to play the most decisive role in transfers.
The highly-rated Portuguese coach was appointed as Erik ten Hag’s managerial successor earlier this month and will be tasked with engineering a swift turnaround in fortunes at Old Trafford, with the club currently languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table and with only one win to their name so far in Europe.
Amorim takes charge of United for the first time against struggling Ipswich in a top-flight encounter at Portman Road on Sunday, before which he addressed the media for the first time in his new post as Red Devils boss.
Among the many topics addressed in his detailed opening press conference at Carrington was inevitably transfer business, an area where United have struggled notably in recent years, with the former Sporting Lisbon chief asked if he expected to have an influence on the players signed in future or if he was content to leave that up to the recruitment team.
“I think it has to be all together because if you are coach that comes here and already chose the players, it could be wrong because this is a football club that will be here for a long time and you as a coach you don’t know that,” Amorim responded, with only five weeks to go until the January transfer window opens for business.
“So you have to work everybody together. And for that we have to improve the processes of recruitment. The data, the profile of the players that we want but we have to have a strong position on that because I am the coach and I know how we want to play.
“I think it is all together but the final word, as you say, should be with the manager, not because it is your right but because it is your responsibility. In the end, they will ask you about the results and in the end that comes through me.
“I think that, all together, we can improve the process of recruitment and I have to understand the league, that is important and when everything aligns, everything is on the same page, we can [correctly] buy and sell players.”
Asked if it had been agreed that he would have the final say on new signings at United, Amorim added: “I am not saying this is the final [say] but I have a great responsibility when we chose players because this is something that should be done in this way. I am the manager, the head coach and I have to choose the players.”
