Do Manchester United want a bold young tactician or a proven winner, if the Ineos axe does indeed fall upon Erik ten Hag?
Do they go for a, say, Roberto de Zerbi or a Thiago Motta? Or instead a Thomas Tuchel; a more short-term, quick fix, yes, but a man capable of bringing immediate success and silverware to Old Trafford while Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co put the plans in place behind the scenes for a long-term overhaul?
That, of course, is one of the many, many questions Ineos must answer ahead of what is likely to be a summer of substantial change at Old Trafford, not just on the pitch but off it too.
WhileManchester United‘s new decision makers are reportedly still planning ahead with Ten Hag in mind, Monday’s latest humiliation – that 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace – was certainly not a good luck for a coach who is starting to lose support amongst even the more patient members of the Red Devils fanbase.
Manchester United must make Erik ten Hag decision
Whoever takes Ten Hag’s place, if indeed anyone does, may end up inheriting a Man United side licking their wounds after their worst-ever Premier League season, suffering a record 13 defeats and conceding the most goals since 1977.
One of the many names reportedly on Man United’s radar, per The Telegraph, does have a track record when it comes to repairing a culture, rebuilding a dressing room, and bringing success back to a sleeping giant starved of it.
Sporting Lisbon, when making Ruben Amorim the third-most expensive manager in football history back in 2020, were lumbering towards a fourth-place finish in Portugal’s top-flight. One year later, Amorim guided Sporting to their first domestic crown in two decades, while improving their points haul by 25.
The former Braga coach then repeated the trick this season, securing another Primeira Liga title last weekend. And while Amorim has since spoken publicly about his plans to stay in Lisbon – apologising to the club after flying to England for talks with West Ham – Diamantino Miranda is pretty confident that stance would soften substantially if Man United were to offer him the keys to the Red Devils machine.
Ruben Amorim worked wonders at Sporting Lisbon
“If it turns out that if it’s true, that Manchester United are interested in Ruben Amorim, there’s no shortage of money,” Benfica icon Miranda, capped 22 times by Portugal in the 1980s, tells Futebol365. “And I think Amorim has all the conditions.
“Not least because of what he’s already done, not least because he’s going to leave Sporting on a high note.
“I have no great problem accepting that Ruben Amorim will leave if this offer from Manchester United is true. It is a club that is in need of a major overhaul. That’s what Ruben Amorim did at Sporting.
“It’s true the scale is very different, but Amorim was able to prove himself at Sporting. He can do that (at Manchester United).”
According to The Telegraph, Ineos feel that Amorim – who has a £13 million release clause in his contract – is one of many exciting, forward-thinking young tacticians on the European market.
There are also admirers at Man United of Thiago Motta, leading Bologna to Champions League qualification, and Michel, who has taken Girona to a top-four finish in Spain for the first time.