Ruben Amorim “Nothing has been decided yet,” Manchester United said on Tuesday after naming the Sporting Lisbon manager as their frontrunner to replace sacked manager Erik ten Hag. United ended Ten Hag’s two-year reign on Monday after losing 2-1 to West Ham, leaving one of the world’s richest clubs in 14th place in the Premier League. Amorim He has quickly emerged as the front-runner to replace the Dutchman, and a statement from Sporting to the Lisbon Stock Exchange said United were prepared to meet his €10m (£8.3m, $10.8m) release clause. said.
The 39-year-old was cautious when asked after Sporting’s League Cup win over Nacional on Tuesday night whether it would be his last game with the Portuguese club.
“No one knows whether this was my farewell match or not. Nothing has been decided yet,” the Portuguese coach was quoted as saying by sports newspaper A Bora.
Despite spending millions in the summer transfer window, United have won just one of their last eight competitive matches.
Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been appointed interim manager, but United appear to be focused on Amorim, who is regarded as one of Europe’s leading young managers.
Since joining the club in March 2020, he has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting.
Amorim denied the speculation when asked on Monday ahead of the League Cup match.
“I’m not going to talk about my future,” he said. “I am very proud to be the manager of Sporting Lisbon.”
“Incredible football”
Brighton’s Fabian Hürzeler, a young manager already in the Premier League, was asked on Tuesday what advice he would give Amorim if he were to leave Portugal for Old Trafford.
“At 39 years old, he’s eight years older than me,” Haseler said. “He has already achieved great results in Portugal. I watched some of his matches and he plays great football.”
Amorim had been linked with taking over as Liverpool manager following Jurgen Klopp’s departure earlier this year, but Dutch manager Arne Slott instead headed to Anfield.
United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe approached other managers and retained Ten Hag following an internal review at the end of last season, when the club finished eighth in the league. His position was repeatedly questioned, but he won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
However, United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season.
The former Ajax manager, who joined United in May 2022, fiercely defended his record, insisting that winning two trophies in two full seasons was worthy of respect.
United defeated Newcastle in the 2023 League Cup final, ending their six-year wait for a silver medal.
However, in the second season, injuries to key players and the effects of expensive contracts such as Brazilian players diminished. anthony And because Ten Hag couldn’t implement a clear playstyle, he was set on a path to failure.
United were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages last season, suffering back-to-back defeats at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag were helped in the transfer market, spending more than £600 million ($778 million), nearly half of which was spent on former Ajax players.
However, early hopes of the season were dashed as Liverpool and Tottenham both won comfortably at Old Trafford in September.
In truth, Ten Hag has only overseen a brief period of United’s overall decline since his legendary former manager. alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after the club won a record 20th English title.
Since then, five full-time managers have left.
Speaking after Sunday’s game to preview United’s League Cup clash with Leicester on Wednesday, Ten Hag said he believed winning the trophy in his third season would be a success.
“Definitely, it’s about the trophy,” he responded in comments that were banned until Tuesday.
“Winning trophies in professional football is the most important thing, because winning trophies is what the fans and we expect.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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