Ruben Amorim has finally arrived at Manchester United to replace Erik ten Hag but how good is he in the transfer market?
Erik ten Hag’s time in charge of Manchester United came to an end in October when he was relieved of his duties after yet another defeat.
Results had not been good enough and Ten Hag also didn’t help himself with a terrible hit rate in the transfer market. It’s hard to argue that any of his signings have been a resounding success.
Ten Hag had over £600m spent on his squad and clearly had input given the number of former Ajax players he recruited.
Ruben Amorim has now taken Ten Hag’s place after serving out his notice period with Sporting and thrashing Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League last week.
The 39-year-old has a big job on his hands to turn results around on the pitch and in the transfer market. Thankfully, he’s had success in both regards in Lisbon.
Here are Amorim’s top five signings for Sporting.
Viktor Gyokeres
Sporting took a risk when they made a striker from the Championship their record transfer ever in 2023 but signing Viktor Gyokeres has proven to be a masterstroke.
The Lisbon giants signed Gyokeres for around £20m from Coventry City and will make a huge profit on that sum when he inevitably earns another big transfer.
The clinical Swede has bagged a remarkable 66 goals and 19 assists in just 67 games in Portugal, with his strikes helping fire Sporting to last season’s league title.
Gyokeres was probably the best signing Sporting made while Amorim was in charge and, hopefully, it’s a success that can be replicated at Old Trafford.
Manuel Ugarte
One player Amorim is already deeply familiar with at United is Manuel Ugarte.
Sporting splashed the cash to sign the Uruguayan from minnows Famalicao in 2021 and it was another shrewd move as the unheard-of player was a revelation.
After two seasons, PSG came in to sign Ugarte for £51m, making Lisbon a handsome profit of over £30m.
Things didn’t go well in Paris for the tough-tackling midfielder, though, which saw him leave in another big-money move to United this past summer.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to rediscover his best form under Amorim.
Pedro Goncalves
A player you might remember after he had a brief stint at Wolves, Pedro Goncalves was another promising player Sporting picked up from Famalicao.
The dynamic and versatile forward was signed on the cheap for around £11m and Amorim helped him realise his full potential.
Pacey and skilful with an eye for a goal and a pass, Amorim has utilised the 26-year-old as a supporting forward in the attacking trio of his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
Goncalves has flourished in the role. He already has five goals and six assists in just 11 games this term after contributing 18 goals and 17 assists last season.
It shows just how good Amorim has become at developing and getting the best out of players.
Pedro Porro
Pedro Porro was yet another player hoovered up by the Manchester City system and then largely forgotten about as he was immediately sent back out on loan.
Two non-eventful stints in Spain followed before Amorim brought him to Lisbon on an initial two-year loan in 2020.
The right-back was a success and Sporting snapped him up permanently for a bargain fee of around £6m.
They would then quickly go on to turn another huge profit on a smart signing as he was initially loaned to Tottenham for a multi-million fee before completing a permanent move for £40m.
Morten Hjulmand
Though Gyokeres grabbed the goals, all-action midfielder Morten Hjulmand was the beating heart of the excellent Sporting team that beat out Porto and Benfica to last year’s title.
The Dane didn’t come on the cheap, with Sporting paying out around £17.5m to sign him, but they unearthed the talent from unfancied Serie A side Lecce when no other big club had spotted him.
Hjulmand has been so good since arriving in Lisbon that he is already Sporting’s captain and if Amorim were to bring one player with him to United he might just be many fans’ pick.
In fact, Hjulmand has already been linked with a move to United.
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