Manchester United have made Ruben Amorim a candidate for the managerial position at Old Trafford

According to The Telegraph (subscription required) [h/t Sports Mole], Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim has been shortlisted as one of the candidates for the Manchester United managerial position.

The 36-year-old manager is one of the youngest managers in European football at the moment. Despite his young age, the Portuguese tactician has already achieved a great deal with Lisbon ever since he took over as manager.

The hierarchy at Sporting was so impressed with the job he was doing at SC Braga that they immediately snapped him up in 2020. The move has paid great dividends as the young manager has been in charge of Lisbon for 73 matches during which he has managed to win 54 games, draw 12, and lose on a mere seven occasions. These stats are enviable considering that he took over a club that was still trying to recapture its former glory.

He helped them achieve it in the first time of asking by leading them to the league title last season. It was the club’s first championship since the 2001/02 campaign.

The Verde e brancos are enjoying a great run of form this season and are currently second in the Primeira Liga behind only FC Porto due to an inferior goal difference. Both teams are neck to neck in the title race and are yet to lose a match in the Portuguese Football League this campaign. The Leões are also doing well in the UEFA Champions League this season and are almost assured of a place in the knockout stages after a resounding 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in their last Champions League fixture.

The 36-year-old has established himself with an exciting brand of football that is easy on the eyes. His team is usually set up with a 3-4-3 formation that helps bring an extra attacker in the fore and automatically put the opposition on the backfoot. He has got great results with this system and could be willing to shake things up at Old Trafford.

He may not be as highly established as some of the other coaches who have been linked to the job recently but his track record shows great promise. One of the drawbacks that people may hit at is that he does not have the experience of handling a star-studded squad like the one at Manchester United.

The Premier League is also at a different level as compared to the other footballing competitions in the world. It can be a ruthless place especially if you are managing one of the ‘big six’ clubs in England at the moment. David Moyes who attained great results with Everton and is currently steering West Ham as a major force also struggled to make a substantial impact during his time at Old Trafford.

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Ruben Amorin fits the bill of an exciting coach who has a unique and attacking brand of football. That being said Man United would be taking a gamble on a young coach but Bayern Munich appointing Julian Nagelsmann goes to show that the big clubs are willing to trust in young managers right now.

He would be easier to attain but the club would have to fork out a sum of €30 million to trigger the release clause in his current contract. Whether they are willing to do so on a relatively unknown name remains to be seen.