Manchester United are reportedly working on a deal to hire Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim as the team’s next manager, a role left vacant after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday.
Although United are still in the early stages of drafting Ten Hag’s successor, the club is willing to pay a release clause of around $10 million for Amorim’s services and the manager himself is open to talks. according to The Athletic. It is still unclear how quickly United can or will get a deal done to hire a new manager, be it Amorim or someone else. In the meantime, ten Hag’s assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy will lead the team.
The 39-year-old Amorim is considered a rising managerial talent in Europe after making a name for himself in his native Portugal. He has spent most of his managerial career at Sporting, who hired him in March 2020 and achieved success under his leadership, winning the Primeira Liga in the 2021/22 and 2023/24 seasons. The league title at the end of the 2021-2022 season ended a 19-year drought in a league long dominated by Benfica and Porto. They top the table this season with nine perfect wins from nine and are currently eighth in the UEFA Champions League table with seven points from nine.
Amorim prefers to play with his teams in a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation with defensive stability and a preference for ball possession, while possessing a flexible attacking strategy. He has also worked with a handful of players who went on to sign for top clubs in Europe, such as United’s Manuel Ugarte and Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes.
His success in recent years has already seen him linked with a number of high-profile jobs in England, including at Liverpool and West Ham. Amorim was considered the front-runner to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool until Arne Slot filled the role, although he later traveled to London to discuss their vacancy. in April called the trip a “mistake” for timing.
Despite Amorim’s CV, he would have a big task ahead of him at United. Not only are they in 14th place with three wins in their first nine games, their worst start to the season in 35 years, but their problems are bigger than the manager’s. The team has built a roster that lacks high-quality players and is instead made up largely of underperforming players. Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes are the only players with multiple goals or assists this season, while high-profile players such as Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund have been out of form for more than a year.
United, currently managed by Van Nistelrooy, return to play on Sunday when they host fifth-placed Chelsea.