Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim
A little over seven hours after Manchester United confirmed the departure of Erik ten Hag, the leading contender to take over at Old Trafford has emerged as they are in talks with Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim.
United confirmed on Tuesday morning that Ten Hag’s reign as manager was over, with Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham proving to be the final match for the Dutchman.
Sporting head coach Amorim was strongly linked with a move to Liverpool when Jurgen Klopp confirmed he was stepping down from his role at Anfield last summer.
Yet those links came to nothing as Arne Slot landed the Liverpool job and now Amorim could be set to join their big rivals and take on the challenge of reviving United.
The 39-year-old has won two league titles with Sporting and is widely respected to be one of Europe’s brightest young tacticians, amid strong suggestions that he could be a leading contender to take over at Manchester City if Pep Guardiola leaves his post this summer.
Guardiola has yet to confirm if he will extend his tenure at City, with some suggesting United have opted to sack Ten Hag and make their move for Amorim now before he is tempted by another job in Manchester.
United spoke to Thomas Tuchel last summer before opting to stick with Ten Hag and he has since taken on the role of England manager.
It may be that United officials were keen to avoid missing out on another major managerial target, with a compensation package of around €10million likely to be demanded for Amorim.
The speed of the move for Amorim will fuel the belief that this move has been under discussion for some time, with United’s top target believed to have told Old Trafford chiefs that he is keen to take over.
