'Nothing has been decided yet' says Manchester United target Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim said on Tuesday that “nothing has been decided yet” after Manchester United made the Sporting Lisbon coach their top target to replace sacked manager Eric ten Hag. United ended Ten Hag's two-year reign on loan on Monday after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham left one of the world's richest clubs in 14th place in the Premier League. Amorim soon emerged as the leading contender to replace the Dutchman and a statement issued by Sporting to the Lisbon Stock Exchange said United were willing to meet his 10 million euro ($8.3 million, $10.8 million) release clause. Was ready.

When the 39-year-old was asked after Tuesday night's Sporting League Cup win against Nacional whether it was his last game with the Portuguese club, he shrugged it off.

“No one knows whether this was my farewell match or not. Nothing has been decided yet,” the Portuguese coach said, as reported by sports daily A Bola.

Despite spending heavily in the summer transfer market, United have won one of their last eight matches in all competitions.

Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named interim boss, but United's focus remains on Amorim, who is regarded as one of Europe's leading youth coaches.

He has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.

Amorim dismissed the speculation during questioning on Monday ahead of the League Cup match.

“I'm not going to talk about my future,” he said. “I am very proud to be the coach of Sporting Lisbon.”

'Incredible football'

Brighton's Fabian Herzeler, a young manager who is already making his mark in the Premier League, was asked on Tuesday what advice he would give Amorim if he left Portugal for Old Trafford.

“Twenty-nine years old and he's eight years older than me,” Herzeler said. “He has already achieved great things in Portugal. I have watched some of his games, he plays incredible football.”

Amorim was linked with the manager's role at Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp's departure this year, but Dutch coach Arne Slott turned to Anfield instead.

The 54-year-old ten Hag's status had been repeatedly questioned since United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, who made the offer along with other managers, retained him following an internal review at the end of last season when the club finished second in the league. They finished eighth but won the FA Cup with an unexpected 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, has fiercely defended his record and argued he deserves recognition for winning two trophies in his two full seasons.

United ended a six-year wait for silverware by defeating Newcastle in the 2023 League Cup Final.

However, in their second season, injuries to key players, the lack of impact of expensive signings such as Brazilian Antony and failure to implement Ten Hag's clear playing style led them to failure.

United crashed out in the Champions League group stage and suffered consecutive defeats at Old Trafford last season.

Ten Hag found favor in the transfer market, and spent more than £600 million ($778 million) – almost half of which was spent on former Ajax players.

Yet early hopes this season were dashed as Liverpool and Tottenham both won easily at Old Trafford in September.

In truth, Ten Hag only witnessed a brief period of United's general decline, as legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after the club became champions of England for a record 20th time.

Since then five full-time managers have come and gone.

Speaking after the match on Sunday to preview United's League Cup clash against Leicester on Wednesday, Ten Hag indicated that he thought winning a trophy in his third season would make it a success.

“Of course, it's about trophies,” he replied in comments that were restricted until Tuesday.

“If you win a trophy in pro football, that's the most important thing because that's what the fans expect and we also expect to win trophies.”