Rúben Amorim is on the brink of becoming Manchester United’s new head coach following Sporting’s announcement that the Premier League side are prepared to meet his €10 million contract termination fee. Sporting relayed this information to Portugal’s financial regulator, the securities market commission, after the English club showed interest in securing the services of the 39-year-old manager by covering his release clause.
After Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag earlier this week, they commenced negotiations with Amorim’s team, proposing a contract for three years, valued at around £6.5 million or €7.8 million per annum. Amorim is expected to coach Sporting’s cup match against Nacional at their home ground tonight, and Manchester United is looking to officially introduce him as soon as possible. For Wednesday’s Carabao Cup match against Leicester, Ruud van Nistelrooy will serve as interim coach, and an encounter with Chelsea at Old Trafford awaits them on Sunday.
The new manager will enter the role with a restrained budget to bolster the squad in the January transfer window. Following Ten Hag’s investment of £200 million on five players – Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte – during the summer, there is only a modest financial arsenal available for a mid-season revamp. Although no players need to be sold to fund purchases, any extravagant spending will require financial balancing through player sales due to profitability and sustainability guidelines. Ten Hag’s tenure saw an estimated £600 million invested over five transfer windows to assemble his squad.
United’s valuable assets are few, with the exception of Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund, and Kobbie Mainoo—who are strictly not for sale—and potentially Marcus Rashford, who could command around £60 million.
In anticipation of Amorim’s exit, Sporting has orchestrated a succession plan, with their reserve team coach, João Pereira, set to step in. Under Amorim’s management, Sporting celebrated two league championships and two League Cup victories over his four seasons, and currently sit on top of the league with a perfect record after nine games.
Manchester United, however, are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League with 11 points, eight goals, and a negative goal difference of three after nine fixtures. They sit 21st out of 36 teams in the Europa League following three draws in their initial matches.
Arne Slot, who has had the experience of going up against Ten Hag in both the Premier League and Eredivisie, confidently predicts Ten Hag will quickly secure a new position at a top club. He referenced Ten Hag’s impressive record at Ajax where he has earned two titles, and thus anticipates his reappearance at a prominent club sooner rather than later, as remarked by the head coach of Liverpool. – Guardian