Manchester United are reportedly closing in on their top managerial target Ruben Amorim, even as the Sporting Lisbon coach said “nothing has been decided yet” when it came to him replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag. As United prepared to play their first game since dismissing Ten Hag on Wednesday, facing Leicester in the League Cup at Old Trafford, behind the scenes 39-year-old Amorim appears to be their first choice to take over the hotseat. United pulled the plug on Ten Hag's two-year reign as manager on Monday after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham left them in 14th place in the Premier League.
Amorim quickly emerged as the leading contender to succeed the Dutchman and Sporting issued a statement to the Lisbon stock exchange on Tuesday confirming United were willing to meet his €10 million release clause.
Sky Sports quoted a Sporting source on Wednesday as saying Amorim's move to Old Trafford was a “done deal” but the club remained tight-lipped.
Amorim grew wary when asked after Tuesday's Sporting League Cup win against Nacional if it was his last game with the club.
“Nobody knows if this was my farewell match. Nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
Despite heavy spending on 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.
United have appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim boss but Amorim, regarded as one of Europe's leading young coaches, is reportedly the leading contender to take over on a permanent basis.
The former Portuguese international midfielder has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.
He was briefly linked with the manager's role at Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving and went so far as to hold talks with West Ham this year before they appointed former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui.
– 'Age doesn't matter' –
Amorim would be one of the youngest managers in the Premier League if appointed by United.
But Pep Guardiola, who has led United's UAE-backed neighbors Manchester City to an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles, insisted Amorim's age was not an issue.
“Why is it a problem?” said city manager Guardiola. “I started at Barcelona at the age of 37 and ended up in the fourth division.
“Knowledge is knowledge. If you can do it, it doesn't matter… What's important is talent. If you're good, age doesn't matter,” the Spaniard added.
Van Nistelrooy, who takes charge against Leicester, said in the matchday program that he was “saddened” about Ten Hag's departure.
The former United striker added that it has been “a great honor to lead the club I love for however long I am asked to do so”.
Whoever the new United manager is, he will inherit a squad largely built by Ten Hag and made up of several players who have proven to be expensive failures.
The most glaring example is Antony, the Brazilian striker signed for almost £90m from Ten Hag's former club Ajax in 2022, who has scored just 12 goals in 87 appearances.
United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe discussed Ten Hag's progress in the summer after the club finished eighth in the league but won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
It was believed the club had also spoken to other potential managers but decided to keep Ten Hag and hand him millions for new players.
But Ten Hag was sacked as United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season.
The former Ajax coach, who joined United in May 2022, argued in his final days in charge that he deserved respect for winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup a year later.
In comments embargoed until Tuesday, Ten Hag said before the game against Leicester that he thought winning a trophy in his third season would make it a success.
“It's definitely about trophies,” he said. “In professional football, when you win a trophy, that is the most important thing because that is what the fans expect and what we expect.”
Since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after leading United to a record 20th league title, five full-time managers have come and gone at Old Trafford.
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