Ineos may have dragged out Erik ten Hag’s departure longer than they needed to, but Manchester United cannot be accused of mulling around in pursuit of replacement Ruben Amorim.
In the blink of an eye, Manchester United went from dismissing Erik ten Hag to moving within touching distance of his successor.
The speed of the Dutchman’s departure certainly suggested that something might have changed behind the scenes. Had Man United received some indication that one of their top managerial targets was willing to take over immediately?
It seems that, with Ruben Amorim verbally agreeing to leave Sporting Lisbon for Old Trafford, that the answer to that question is a rather emphatic ‘yes’.
Sporting Lisbon eye Ruben Amorim replacement as Manchester United close in
Portuguese publication Record provided an update on those Ruben Amorim talks on Tuesday morning.
They say that discussions with Manchester United – led by Amorim’s agent Raul Costa and Sporting president Frederico Varandas – are ‘gaining more and more momentum’.
And after the Red Devils went from zero to 60 in their pursuit of a new head coach – talks now ‘very advanced – Amorim’s current employers appear equally keen to get a new face in the dugout sooner rather than later.
Sporting, Record say, are already weighing up whether to hand the reigns to Joao Pereira.
Currently the coach of the Portuguese champions B team, the former Portugal right-back is likely to make the step up from the reserves to the first-team with his work behind the scenes in the capital laying the foundations for a leap up the ladder.
“Interestingly, the decision of Sporting fans will largely depend on the successor,” Bernardo Ribeiro writes in his Record column, feeling that Pereira is likely to be a popular replacement.
“If Joao Pereira wins, Ruben will be forgiven. If The Lion gets lost in the jungle of English money, things will be even worse [for Amorim]. That’s life in football, but it’s sad that it ends like this.
“It’s difficult not to understand Ruben’s farewell. Professionals have to make choices, no matter how difficult they may be. A United will always be bigger than a great Portuguese team.
“These are tough days for Frederico Varandas.”
Interestingly, Varandas was asked about the prospect of Amorim leaving Lisbon for Manchester just six days ago.
Sporting are already set to lose sporting director Hugo Viana to Man City. Amorim looks set to follow in Viana’s footsteps, albeit on the red side of Manchester.
“I’ve been hearing this question for over four years,” Varandas told reporters last week, Man United’s interest a testament to Sporting’s success in the Amorim era.
“I think this should make all Sporting fans and even the entire media proud; one of the best coaches in the world has been at Sporting for five years. That’s fantastic.
“In a structure where all the pieces are important, [the coach] is the most important piece of that structure.
“Today, the three of us [Varandas, Viana and Amorim] have a friendly relationship,” the president adds. “Today, it is a fact that Ruben Amorim has a contract with Sporting until 2026. And today, it is a fact that Hugo Viana will be the sporting director of Manchester City next year.
“For me, that is not an issue. I live off what can I control.”
Paul Scholes reacts to potential Ruben Amorim arrival at Old Trafford
What Varandas can control, however, is hiring a replacement. And, as things stand, it feels likely that Joao Pereira will be patrolling the Sporting dugout as Ruben Amorim settles into a hotseat which scalded Erik ten Hag.
Old Trafford icon Paul Scholes does have reservations, meanwhile, even if Amorim’s remarkable record speaks for itself. In the absence of so-called ‘proven’, elite-level tacticians such as Zinedine Zidane or say Carlo Ancelotti, Amorim certainly represents a risk, albeit a calculated one.
“It has been a struggle to find the right man,” Scholes tells the official Premier League website.
“Jose Mourinho, [Louis] Van Gaal, obviously David Moyes, and then Ten Hag came in from Ajax. It was a little bit of a risk but there have been four or five different people where you think you have always got a chance [of succeeding] with them.
“Now, they are onto the next one. Whoever that may be, he has to be best in class. That is what Manchester United need.
“Amorim is an interesting one. But, again, that is a risky one.
“We all know the style of play. [Amorim] plays really good football. We’ve been talking about him [replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester] City. That obviously tells you something about his pedigree.
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