Manchester United are chasing a deal for Sporting boss Ruben Amorim after announcing the sacking of Erik ten Hag on Monday.
It’s all change at Old Trafford after Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday morning.
The Dutchman departs after more than two years in charge and leaves United sitting 14th in the Premier League table.
Add in no wins from the first three Europa League games and Ten Hag can have few complaints with his departure.
Sacking Ten Hag was ‘difficult but unanimous’ inside United as he paid the price for a difficult start to the season.
The search for Ten Hag’s replacement is now on and United appear to have a number one target in mind.
- READ MORE: Bruno Fernandes breaks silence first as Erik ten Hag is sacked as Manchester United manager
Bruno Fernandes on Ruben Amorim
United appear to be closing in on a new manager with Sporting confirming that Ruben Amorim is nearing a move to Old Trafford.
Amorim has already won two league titles before the age of 40 and his work in Lisbon has attracted United’s interest.
One man who would seemingly love Amorim’s arrival is Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes never actually crossed paths with Amorim at Sporting; United pounced to sign Fernandes in January 2020, just two months before Amorim quit Braga to join Sporting.
Fernandes has still admired Amorim from afar though and spoke to Sapo Desporto in Portugal about Amorim earlier in October.
The United captain praised Amorim for bring quality football to Sporting whilst also picking up results.
Fernandes highlighted Sporting’s lack of titles before Amorim arrived, and believes that he has the quality as a coach to succeed in a top league.
“Since Mr Amorim arrived at Sporting, they have been one of the teams playing the best football,” said Fernandes.
“They have been consistent, the signings have been right and they are in a very good moment. They are a very well prepared team. Regarding Amorim, he shows that he is ready at the moment. Coaching Sporting and winning championships is not easy. Sporting went 20 years without winning a championship and Amorim arrived and has already won two, this shows that the work has been well done. Whether he will be able to do the same in England, Spain or anywhere else will never be known until he gets there, but I am sure that his qualities are there for everyone to see,” he added.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 12 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 12 |
| 13 |  West HamWest Ham | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 11 |
| 14 |  Man UtdManchester United | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 11 |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 9 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 |
Where would Fernandes fit in under Ruben Amorim?
Fernandes is a fan of Amorim but his tactical approach leads to questions about the United captain.
Amorim has almost always played a 3-4-3 system at Sporting and we have explored how Amorim could line up at United.
Fernandes doesn’t have a clear role in that setup given that he is almost a pure number 10.
Playing Fernandes deep seems unlikely, leaving Amorim to consider playing Fernandes in one of the two advanced positions around a striker.
United do have the likes of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, but Amorim will want to get Fernandes into the team.
That may mean Fernandes working in from the left or right flank to support the attack and provide creativity, possibly opening up room for a wing back to overlap.
Amorim certainly won’t want Fernandes’ talents to go to waste at United, but finding a role for him will be a key topic around his arrival – if a deal is done.
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