Rijo Sam Daniel
Sporting coach Ruben Amorim a candidate to replace Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United
According to journalist Jorge Nicola (h/t The Express), Sporting boss Ruben Amorim has been identified as a candidate to replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United. He is a highly-rated modern coach in world football and has quickly become one of the most desired personnel, having started his managerial career recently.
Having joined the Portuguese club in 2020, he has helped them to two League Cups and a Primeira Liga title in spectacular fashion. They had initially bought him from Braga for £8million when he had just two months of experience in the top division. However, he has gone on to repay that faith and has marked his name in their history.
Amorim is believed to have a current release clause of around £25million, which would be expensive if Man United want to trigger it. It remains to be seen if the Glazers would be open to splashing such an amount for a coach, and only time will tell how the situation would develop.
The favourites for the job are Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag and Brendan Rodgers and a move could be easier to facilitate at the end of the season rather than right now, given we just tied down Rangnick as our new interim manager. Pochettino is in pole position to take the managerial job, and Rangnick is aware of the plans of the board.
Could it happen?
The 36-year-old has had a wonderful time in Portugal and his 32-game unbeaten run to win the league is one to earn plaudits. The prospect of signing him could be really interesting to think about and, he could inject fresh ideas into the club. It is understandable if some are concerned that he does not have enough experience to take the big job.
But it’s not like signing experienced names such as David Moyes and Louis van Gaal helped us too much. Should the Leões manager get signed, the presence of players like Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Dalot would offer him three Portuguese faces in the dressing room as well. Such a connection, more often than not, tends to help a new joiner settle in quicker.
It is natural to get reminded of Andre Villas-Boas when thinking of Amorim. The dynamic Portuguese manager joined Chelsea in 2011 but soon found himself at Tottenham Hotspur in the space of a year. It is safe to say things did not work out well for him in England, and he most recently managed Marseille after a number of stints following his poor spell at N17.
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It is tough to see the Sporting manager at the Manchester club since he is topped by others on the list but nothing can be said for certain right now. The expensive release clause does not help, and it remains to be seen which manager the Man United board goes for come the end of the season.
