Manchester City and Liverpool resisted the temptation to make Ruben Amorim an offer to manage in the Premier League as they both felt the 39-year-old’s style of play wasn’t a suitable fit. Manchester United are set to appoint the Sporting manager as their new boss after wielding the axe to bring Erik ten Hag’s sorry spell at the club to an end on Monday.
The Red Devils have suffered their worst start to a Premier League season and are 14th in the table after winning just three of their opening nine matches.
And they have told Sporting they are willing to stump up the £8.3million required to end Amorim’s spell in Portugal in the hope he will be in his post at Old Trafford by the weekend.
Amorim has excelled during his early years in management and has steered Sporting to two league titles in his four seasons at Estadio Jose Alvalade.
The Portuguese coach has been linked with a move to the Premier League since last season, with Liverpool and West Ham both holding talks with the talented coach earlier this year.
And with Pep Guardiola’s future at the Etihad Stadium currently up in the air as he hurtles towards the end of his contract, Amorim had also been tipped to link up with Hugo Viana when the Sporting director of football heads to City next summer to take over from Txiki Begiristain.
But, according to The Athletic, the doors at the Etihad and Anfield were closed on the former midfielder due to his tactical ideas.
City never made a move for him as they don’t believe his style fits, and that stance is similar to the one Liverpool had in the summer.
The outlet have suggested that many people who have worked with Viana in Portugal were certain that the director would have wanted Amorim to join him at the Citizens. But that move will not materialise.
United are said to be locked in talks with Sporting over Amorim’s start date at Old Trafford as he has a notice period of a few weeks.
And Red Devils chiefs will be desperate to get him to Manchester as soon as they can in the hope he can oversee a dramatic upturn in fortunes.
United have won just three times in the Premier League this season and have drawn all three of their matches in the Europa League. The team are already 12 points adrift of top-flight leaders Manchester City in England and are six points off top-of-the-table Lazio in Europe.
