LONDON: Sporting Lisbon confirmed on Tuesday Manchester United's interest in signing up their Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim after the English giants sacked Erik Ten Hag.
United pulled the plug on Dutchman Ten Hag's two-year reign on Monday after a 2-1 defeat by West Ham the previous day left one of the world's wealthiest clubs 14th in the Premier League.
Amorim, 39, quickly emerged as the leading contender to replace Ten Hag following the Red Devils' woeful start to the season.
And a statement issued by Portuguese club Sporting to the Lisbon stock exchange revealed United's willingness to meet his 10 million euro (£8.3 million, US$10.8 million) release clause.
"Manchester United have expressed their interest in recruiting coach Ruben Amorim and have said they are ready to pay the 10 million euro release clause," Sporting said.
Amorim was guarded when asked after Sporting's League Cup win against Nacional on Tuesday night if that was his farewell match with the club.
"Nobody knows whether this was my farewell match. Nothing is decided yet. So let's focus on analysis of the game," he said in the post-match interview, reported by sports daily A Bola.
Despite spending heavily in the transfer market in the summer, United have won one of their last eight games in all competitions.
Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named interim boss but United appear to be concentrating on Amorim, who is considered one of Europe's leading young coaches.
He has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.
Amorim had earlier dismissed the speculation when quizzed on Monday ahead of the League Cup match.
"I'm not going to talk about my future," he said. "I'm very proud to be the coach of Sporting Lisbon."
Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler, a young manager already making his way in the Premier League, was asked Tuesday what advice he'd give Amorim should he leave Portugal for Old Trafford.
"39 and he's eight years older than me," said Hurzeler. "He's already achieved great things in Portugal. I've seen some games of him, he plays incredible football."
Amorim was linked with the manager's role at Liverpool following the departure of Jurgen Klopp this year, but Dutch coach Arne Slot headed to Anfield instead.
The position of Ten Hag, 54, had been repeatedly called into question after United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, who made overtures to other managers, retained him following an internal review at the end of last season when the club finished eighth in the league but won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
But United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season.
The former Ajax coach, who joined United in May 2022, had fiercely defended his record, arguing he deserved respect for winning two trophies in his two full seasons.
United ended a six-year wait for silverware by beating Newcastle in the 2023 League Cup final.
However, in his second season, injuries to key players, the lack of impact from expensive signings like Brazilian forward Antony and Ten Hag's failure to implement a clear playing style put him on the road to failure.
United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage and suffered a string of defeats at Old Trafford last season.
Ten Hag was backed in the transfer market, spending over £600 million (US$778 million) – nearly half of which went on former Ajax players.
Yet early hope this season evaporated as Liverpool and Tottenham both won with ease at Old Trafford in September.
In truth, Ten Hag oversaw just a small period of United's more general decline since legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after the club were crowned champions of England for a record 20th time.
Five full-time managers have come and gone since then.
Speaking post-match on Sunday to preview United's League Cup tie against Leicester on Wednesday, Ten Hag indicated he thought winning a trophy in his third season would make it a success.
"Definitely, it's about trophies," he replied in comments which were embargoed until Tuesday. "If you win a trophy in pro football, that is most important because that is what the fans expect and what we expect, to win a trophy."
He added United had to use their poor start as motivation for the rest of the season, saying: "Now we have to find the fuel from setbacks and disappointments."--AFP