Manchester United are about to add another dose of Portugal to their existing setup with a deal for Ruben Amorim to be manager looking close.
As per reports, Amorim has ‘verbally agreed’ to become Man Utd manager and coming just hours after Erik ten Hag’s sacking, it is a quick turnaround.
That is truer still because Amorim was always considered an outside candidate at best due to his reluctance to move from Sporting midseason.
He had re-established the Sporting into a Portuguese giant after taking over in difficult circumstances, including an unbeaten league win.
What, then, turned Amorim’s head that he is set to jump ship in November to a team in 14th place in the league? Apparently, one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s men came through in remarkable fashion.
Ruben Amorim’s head turned by Ineos favourite
Sir Jim Ratcliffe had been insistent after taking the sporting ownership of Man Utd that they want a “best in class” executive team.
That team was precisely for these conditions, when the manager is not everything at the club and the show can go as long as the structure above him is long-term.
Still, getting a new manager is a big call, and considering this was Ineos‘ first, they had to get it right by any means.
Their ambition was already shown in United’s stance on paying compensation but convincing Amorim from his previous stance of not leaving Portugal midseason was still a challenge.
Portuguese outlet Abola reports that Amorim’s choice was made after a meeting with Sir Dave Brailsford, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s right-hand man and director of sports at Ineos.
After the arrival of “footballing people” for the executive team, Brailsford took a step back from active football operations at Old Trafford.
However, he is a master communicator and a legend of his field so the club are clearly still using him in the right way to swing deals in their favour.
Certified win for Ineos
The replacement call was one Ineos had to get right because many Man Utd fans would argue they had already gotten two calls wrong.
First was keeping Ten Hag by flowing in the euphoria of the FA Cup win and giving him an extension. That is wrong, however, only with the benefit of hindsight.
They wanted to give the Dutchman a chance with the new regime and structure but it just didn’t work out.
However, there’s a real argument to be made that they did fluff their second call by keeping Ten Hag for as long as they did.
He should have been gone in the second international break instead of dragging it along for three more games after it. Still, if they were in talks with Amorim all this while, the timing might make sense.
They could be waiting to get a green light from Amorim before going ahead with sacking Ten Hag. If that was the plan, this is a certified win for Ineos.
How this call ages now is out of their hands, like the transfer window in which they played a blinder.
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