• 2 days ago
Manchester United are in talks with Sporting Lisbon regarding the possible appointment of Ruben Amorim as their new manager.
Transcript
00:00It looks as if Ruben Amorim is in the frame to become the next Manchester United manager.
00:05At Manchester World, we understand there has been contact between United and Sporting Lisbon
00:09on the day that Eric Ten Hag was dismissed as Manchester United manager. It was a decision
00:13that was described as collective and unanimous from the United board, who opted to remove
00:17Ten Hag after two and a half years in charge at Old Trafford. Of course, he did suffer
00:21that 2-1 defeat to West Ham United just yesterday on Sunday. Actually, an okay performance where
00:27Manchester United created plenty of chances, but ultimately, it was the final nail in the
00:30coffin for Eric Ten Hag. It very much felt like this decision was coming, certainly since
00:34the October international break. It's felt like a stay of execution for the Manchester
00:38United boss. We reported earlier today on Manchester World that there was a couple of
00:42names in the frame to take over at Old Trafford. Xabi has recently spoken to Omar Barada, but
00:47reports elsewhere have suggested that he is going to continue with his sabbatical year
00:51off. Thomas Frank has also been a name that United have considered. He's done a fantastic
00:55job at Brentford. Julian Nagelsmann as well at Germany. He was a name that's possibly
00:59in the frame, but at the moment, it is Amirin at Sporting Lisbon who is emerging as the
01:04standout candidate. As I say, United in talks with Sporting about the possibility of him
01:08taking over. Don't know at this stage just how advanced those talks are, but the fact
01:12that the two clubs are in dialogue suggests there is a real possibility that something
01:15could happen there, and it's understood that a fee of around €10 million in compensation
01:20could be owed if United do make him their next manager. Of course, Amirin, he's done
01:25a fantastic job at Sporting. He led the club to their first title in 2021, first title
01:30in 19 years. He followed that up last year by winning the title. They're currently sitting
01:34top of the Portuguese league now. And of course, there's been a lot of talk about Amirin in
01:38the last couple of years because he was very high up on Liverpool's radar when they appointed
01:42their new manager. Ultimately went for Arnie Slott. I think it was seen as more of an easy
01:47transition from Jurgen Klopp, but there was a number of officials at Anfield who really
01:50liked Amirin and thought he would be a good appointment. As I say, Liverpool ultimately
01:54went for Slott. He was also linked with West Ham and in the last week or so has of course
01:58been linked with Manchester City. Following the news that Hugo Vianna is going to take
02:02over as their new sporting director. I think there's a lot of suggestions, obviously the
02:05good relationship Vianna and Amirin have that perhaps he would come in at the Etihad, but
02:11it now looks like Old Trafford is a more likely destination for the Portuguese manager, who
02:15at just 39 is seen really as one of the most up-and-coming managers in world football.
02:20I have to say, I think it'd be a very smart decision from United to move for him. And
02:23it would make sense as well because Ineos, when it comes to their appointments, they
02:26do tend to settle on one name, move and settle on that name. They don't tend to deviate from
02:32that. And no matter how long it takes or how much money it costs, they tend to ultimately
02:36get that target. Omar Barada, Dan Ashworth being examples, Jason Wilcox as well, coming
02:41in from Southampton. He's putting together a team, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos delegation
02:46that he would hope can make United a challenge for the likes or with the likes of Manchester
02:50City for the Premier League title. At this stage, they are a long, long way off from
02:54that. I think a lot of questions have got to be asked about Ratcliffe and the job that
02:58so far they've done in the last six months, particularly in handling this manager situation,
03:01because really not a good job in terms of Eric ten Haagen. And, you know, they could
03:05have pulled the trigger a lot earlier, but ultimately he has now moved on. Amirin has
03:10been appointed or has been, well, signalled as perhaps the standout candidate to take
03:17over. And we'll have to see over the next couple of days how this story does develop.

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