It has been a whirlwind 48 hours within the lifetime of Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim.
Ever since Manchester United introduced the sacking of Erik ten Hag on Monday morning, the 39-year-old has been strongly linked with changing the Dutchman.
From making ready for a Portuguese League Cup tie in opposition to Nacional on Tuesday evening, and what might be his last recreation in control of Sporting Lisbon, Amorim could also be within the dugout when Chelsea go to Previous Trafford within the Premier League on Sunday if United can persuade his membership to launch him instantly.
The previous Benfica midfielder would then change into the sixth everlasting supervisor since Sir Alex Ferguson retired to face the problem of reviving the largest membership in English soccer. Mail Sport sizes up the duty dealing with him.
Ruben Amorim might be about to stroll into one among world soccer’s most demanding jobs
Man United have agreed to pay his £8.3m launch clause and are negotiating over his discover
Witk Erik ten Hag out of the door, what duties are dealing with his substitute at Previous Trafford?
Type the diamonds from the duds
Though United spent greater than £600million on gamers underneath Ten Hag, Amorim will arrive in Manchester to discover a squad that’s nonetheless a piece in progress.
In time, he’ll need a few of his personal gamers at Previous Trafford however there isn’t any assure United may have any cash to spend within the January switch window and the summer time is a great distance off.
Till then, Amorim should work out which of Ten Hag’s squad go well with his 3-4-3 formation and high-pressing type. Not straightforward when the Dutchman didn’t at all times appear to be positive of his finest staff both.
Ten Hag relied closely on gamers he labored with at Ajax or who had a background within the Netherlands, however there have been different signings similar to Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Jonny Evans. Whereas Andre Onana and Lisandro Martinez have labored out nicely, and Christian Eriksen is having fun with a renaissance at United, £82m flop Antony turned an emblem of failure underneath Ten Hag.
Joshua Zirkzee and Mount are in peril of going the identical means, and there are query marks over Matthijs de Ligt. In the meantime, Noussair Mazraoui had a coronary heart scare just lately and Tyrell Malacia — Ten Hag’s first signing — hasn’t performed since Could 2023.
Amorim should perform a fast analysis of the squad and determine which gamers match into his system — notably getting them to purchase into his trademark press, which has been a difficulty for a lot of United managers.
The brand new supervisor should rapidly work out which gamers go well with his system and which don’t
A number of of United’s summer time signings have failed to succeed in their potential, elevating alarm bells
Discover a position for Van Nistelrooy?
When a supervisor leaves and one other is available in, their teaching workers typically transfer with them.
The state of affairs is extra difficult at United after the membership overhauled Ten Hag’s backroom staff in the summertime and introduced in three Dutchmen — assistants Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake, in addition to goalkeeper coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar – and the Swede Andreas Georgson.
Van Nistelrooy has been appointed caretaker boss nevertheless it stays to be seen how he and the remainder of Ten Hag’s workers match into the brand new set-up.
Amorim will need some acquainted faces round him and his assistants at Sporting, Carlos Fernandes and Adelio Candido, have labored with him at different golf equipment as nicely.
The brand new boss should weigh up what to do with summer time appointment Ruud van Nistelrooy in addition to different coaches
Give Ugarte a Sporting probability
One participant who shouldn’t have any drawback adapting to the brand new supervisor is United’s £50.8m summer time signing Ugarte, who loved his finest years underneath Amorim at Sporting.
The Uruguay midfielder has made simply 4 begins for United regardless of an damage to Kobbie Mainoo, with Ten Hag reverting to an previous acquainted pairing of Casemiro and Eriksen.
Ugarte ranked among the many high one per cent of midfielders in Europe based mostly on his stats within the 2022-23 Primeira Liga season, incomes a £51m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
After a troublesome begin to life at United, he will likely be rubbing his fingers on the prospect of working with Amorim once more.
Manuel Ugarte has had a troublesome begin to life at Man United however will likely be excited by Amorim
The midfielder loved one of the best years of his profession enjoying for the Portuguese outfit
Kickstart spluttering £350m strike-force
Ten Hag’s failure to halt United’s slide to 14th within the Premier League desk finally proved his undoing at United after a lowest-ever eighth-place end final season.
His staff’s issues centred round scoring. United ended with a adverse objective distinction for the primary time and have as soon as once more slipped into minus figures this time period with a meagre eight targets in 9 league video games.
Followers are crying out for an attacking, entertaining staff in one of the best traditions of the membership, and that is without doubt one of the causes United have turned to Amorim. Sporting scored 96 targets on their option to successful the title final season, and nicely over 100 in complete.
The Portuguese has change into famend for an exhilarating model of soccer, and he should get one of the best out of a spluttering strike-force at United that price greater than £350million to assemble – not together with academy merchandise Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho who’ve offered the principle attacking menace this season.
Hojlund must do extra to justify his £72m switch price and Amorim should discover a option to spark Zirkzee into life.
Amorim should unlock Rasmus Hojlund (left) and Joshua Zirkzee’s scoring blockage
Sporting scored over 100 targets in all competitions final season, together with 96 within the league
Make Rashford blissful once more
Rashford is one among United’s largest belongings – and highest earners on greater than £300,000-a-week – however too typically underneath Ten Hag he appeared like somebody who would relatively be anyplace however his boyhood membership.
After scoring 30 targets within the Dutchman’s first marketing campaign, Rashford dropped off dramatically final season. He has appeared extra like his previous self with three targets up to now, however was left on the bench at Crystal Palace after scoring twice in opposition to Barnsley within the Carabao Cup after which taken off at half-time in Porto regardless of getting on the scoresheet once more. It did nothing to ease considerations over a fragile relationship with Ten Hag.
Amorim must reinvigorate a participant who turns 27 on Thursday and persuade Rashford that he can get pleasure from one of the best years of his profession at Previous Trafford.
The brand new supervisor may also need to iron out the disciplinary points that twice landed Rashford in sizzling water with Ten Hag for going nightclubbing. Amorim has the status of a constructive man supervisor, and he’ll want these powers to place a smile again on Rashford’s face.
Reinvigorating Marcus Rashford is an important taks for Ten Hag’s substitute – he’s one among Manchester United’s largest belongings
Rashford has appeared extra like himself this season nevertheless it has nonetheless been a bumpy street
Banish the left-back blues
Amorim is understood for taking part in three on the again and pushing his attacking wing-backs increased up the pitch.
Even with Yoro recovering from surgical procedure on a damaged metatarsal and Harry Maguire working his means again from damage, the brand new supervisor has a lot of choices in central defence with Martinez, De Ligt, Victor Lindelof and Evans.
It’s within the large areas the place United have been weak underneath Ten Hag, with left-back their Achilles heel. In addition to Malacia’s long-term absence, Luke Shaw hasn’t performed for United since February on account of a difficult hamstring damage.
In a press convention for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie in opposition to Leicester recorded earlier than his sacking, Ten Hag revealed that Shaw has suffered one other setback and can take even longer to return.
‘The method is just not going as we anticipated, that’s the reality,’ he mentioned. ‘There’s a setback, if you wish to name it that, however we additionally need to do it fastidiously.
‘When he’s now dropping once more, we’re within the incorrect course of so we need to be very cautious. We all know his previous, so we need to do it proper as a result of he may have a big effect on our performances.’
After Ten Hag tried a lot of completely different left-back replacements final season, Diogo Dalot and Mazraoui have crammed on this season with restricted success.
Amorim should banish United’s left-back blues – simpler mentioned than carried out with Luke Shaw’s damage file
Tyrell Malacia has not performed since Could 2023 after his grave knee damage and ensuing surgical procedure
Get Bruno again to his finest
Amorim didn’t change into Sporting Lisbon coach till a couple of weeks after Bruno Fernandes left the membership for United in a £68m deal in January 2020, however the two males know one another and are mentioned to have spoken because the United job turned vacant on Monday.
Fernandes goes via arguably his hardest spell at Previous Trafford regardless of weighing in 5 assists this season. The United captain is but to attain and has additionally been despatched off twice – despite the fact that the primary purple card in opposition to Tottenham was later rescinded.
Amorim will likely be hoping to revive a participant who spoke warmly about his attributes earlier this month. ‘Sporting went 20 years with out successful championships and Amorim arrived and has already gained two. This reveals that the work has been carried out nicely,’ mentioned Fernandes.
‘If he might handle to do the identical in England, Spain or anyplace else – you’ll by no means know till you get there – I’m positive his qualities are there for everybody to see.’
Bruno Fernandes is enduring his hardest spell, with no targets and two purple playing cards this season
United had greater than 60 circumstances of damage and sickness final season – Ten Hag’s successor should cease the rot in that division
Clear the casualty unit
United thought their persistent damage issues had been a factor of the previous, however they returned this season to plague Ten Hag as soon as once more.
‘It holds us again in our ranges and likewise in our place within the league,’ mentioned the Dutchman after he was with out 9 gamers for final week’s Europa League with Fenerbahce after which noticed Antony carried off with a sprained ankle.
Final season, United had greater than 60 circumstances of sickness and damage. It didn’t assist in the summertime that they signed Yoro despite the fact that his metatarsal drawback confirmed up within the medical – which is greater than may be mentioned for Mazraoui’s coronary heart difficulty.
Has the damage disaster been right down to a freak state of affairs, a fault inside United’s medical division or a difficulty with Ten Hag’s coaching strategies? That’s one thing else Amorim should unravel.
