Manchester United may be tempted to sign some of Ruben Amorim’s former Sporting players with a number of options already linked.
Ruben Amorim became Manchester United boss in November but the January transfer window may not have been a focus for him.
Not only would Amorim have wanted to give chances to the United squad he inherited, but United don’t particularly have big money to spend in January.
United’s net spend of around £100million over the summer means Amorim doesn’t have much room for manoeuvre in the January window.
Amorim is therefore expecting a quiet January, but Untied are surely lining up potential targets for the January window.
It’s no great surprise that United are being linked with some of Amorim’s former Sporting stars, but whether United deliver – having signed so many of Erik ten Hag’s former Ajax players – remains to be seen.
Manchester United could miss out on Sporting star
United want Nuno Mendes with the Paris Saint-Germain left back a top target for Amorim having worked together at Sporting.
We have also seen speculation suggesting that current Sporting players could follow Amorim to Old Trafford.
Amorim wants Viktor Gyokeres and Geovany Quenda but won’t want to raid Sporting just months after leaving the club.
There is another name in the mix though with United interested in signing playmaker Francisco Trincao.
Trincao didn’t show his best at Barcelona or Wolverhampton Wanderers but found his best form under Amorim at Sporting.
The 25-year-old was perfect as one of the two players behind the striker in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system and racked up 31 goals as well as 25 assists under Amorim in Lisbon.
A reunion may not set pulses racing but United are still in danger of missing out on Trincao amid rival interest.
Gazzetta dello Sport now report that Jorge Mendes is trying to take Trincao to AC Milan following the appointment of former Porto boss Sergio Conceicao.
Milan have been linked with Marcus Rashford too but Mendes is ‘ready to set up a negotiation’ to take Trincao to the San Siro.
Amorim may be ready to wait until summer to make any move for Trincao but Mendes could send him to Italy before United can even get involved.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 11 |  BrentfordBrentford | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 38 | 35 | 3 | 27 |
| 12 |  TottenhamTottenham | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 42 | 30 | 12 | 24 |
| 13 |  Man UtdManchester United | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 23 |
| 14 |  West HamWest Ham | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 23 |
| 15 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 21 |
Francisco Trincao shows quality amid Manchester United interest
Amorim will still have one eye on Sporting and their fortunes following his exit.
Sporting recently sacked Joao Pereira after he failed to build on Amorim’s work and new boss Rui Borges is now seeking some positive results.
Sporting drew 4-4 at Vitoria Guimaraes on Friday night but needed a sublime late goal from Trincao to rescue a point.
After taking one touch inside the area, Trincao placed a brilliant curling strike into the net, striking the ball on the bounce with exceptional precision.
That goal saved Sporting from another defeat and handed Amorim a reminder of the quality he possesses as United weigh up a 2025 move.
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