Manchester United target Amorim says ‘nothing decided yet’

Ruben Amorim has said that “nothing is decided yet” after Manchester United made the Sporting Lisbon coach their top target to replace sacked manager Erik ten Hag.

United pulled the plug on Ten Hag’s two-year reign 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 replace 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.

The 39-year-old though was guarded when asked after Sporting’s League Cup win against Nacional on Tuesday if that was his last match with the Portuguese club.

“Nobody knows whether this was my farewell match. Nothing is decided yet,” he said, in comments reported by sports daily A Bola.

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 and in the Premier League, they have just three wins in nine games.

While United have appointed their former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim boss, they appear to be concentrating on tying up a deal with Amorim, who is considered one of Europe’s leading young coaches.

Amorim has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020 and has a reputation for developing young players.

He was linked with the manager’s role at Liverpool once Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving, but Dutch coach Arne Slot headed to Anfield instead.

The Portuguese coach went as far as holding talks with West Ham this year, before they appointed former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui to replace David Moyes.

Van Nistelrooy, who will take charge of his first match in his new role when United face Leicester in the League Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday, said in the matchday programme he was “saddened” by Ten Hag’s departure.

The Dutchman added it was “a great honour to manage the club I love for however long I am asked to do so”.

Antony failure

A new United manager will inherit a squad that was largely built by Ten Hag.

It includes players who are viewed as the future of the club such as England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and Argentinian winger Alejandro Garnacho, but many others who have failed to make a significant impact.

The most glaring example is Antony, the Brazilian forward signed for nearly £90 million from Ten Hag’s former club Ajax in 2022, who has scored just 12 goals in 87 appearances.

United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe subjected Ten Hag to a review 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 to spend on new players.

But Ten Hag was sacked because United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season.

Ten Hag, who joined United in May 2022, had fiercely defended his record, arguing he deserved respect for winning two trophies in his two full seasons, the League Cup in 2023 followed by the FA Cup a year later.

In comments that were embargoed until Tuesday, Ten Hag said before United’s League Cup tie against Leicester 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, to win a trophy.”

Since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after United were crowned champions of England for a record 20th time, the club have had to watch their UAE-backed neighbours Manchester City emerge as the pre-eminent force in English football.

In that time, five full-time managers have come and gone from United.