Amorim to ‘clean up’ Man Utd by selling four who ‘don’t interest him’ as Sporting star ‘prioritised’
According to reports, Ruben Amorim ‘intends to quickly clean up’ Man Utd and has made four players available for transfer in January.
Man Utd confirmed the appointment of Sporting boss Amorim as their new head coach following the decision to sack Erik ten Hag.
Amorim will not take charge at Old Trafford until November 11 as he works a notice period in his contract and is currently preparing his side to face Man City in the Champions League.
This will at least give the 39-year-old the international break to stamp his authority and get his ideas across at the club.
His first match in charge will be against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on November 24.
Man Utd spent around £180million in the summer transfer window and the Premier League’s spending rules will surely restrict them in January, but plenty of Sporting players are being linked with a move alongside Amorim.
Unsurprisingly, Viktor Gyokeres – who has 45 goals this year – is being linked, because a manager bringing former players with them to Old Trafford has worked so very well in the past.
Another player Amorim is reportedly keen to bring with him from Sporting to Man Utd is centre-back Goncalo Inacio.
Amorim to sell unwanted Man Utd quartet, sign Sporting defender
According to Sky Sport journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Inacio is ‘a summer priority’ for Man Utd and Amorim ‘could bring several other players he knows at Sporting to Old Trafford’.
The Red Devils were looking at young centre-back Ousmane Diomande last summer and it is claimed he ‘could also make the way to England’.
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In order to buy, Man Utd must sell. A report last week claimed Amorim wants to sell four players who ‘don’t interest him’, and this report mentions the same quartet.
Indeed, ‘as a direct consequence’ of Amorim’s intentions to ‘quickly clean up’ the club through recruitment and a new identity on and off the pitch, Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof have been ‘placed on the transfer market’.
The Portuguese head coach wants to sell all four to ‘free up a large wage bill’ and target his players at Sporting, starting with Inacio.
The report adds that Amorim intends to ‘play football totally opposite to that of Erik ten Hag’, which is a pretty good starting point.
Inacio would undoubtedly improve Man Utd’s defence but Amorim has lots of options in that position, though keeping them all fit proved very difficult for Ten Hag.
Ten Hag used several centre-back combinations in his final 12 months at the club and it would not be silly to say that 36-year-old Jonny Evans was his most consistent performer when called upon.
The Dutchman signed quite a few players he managed at Ajax, which turned out to be an unconvincing transfer strategy.
The Man Utd hierarchy will likely be reluctant to give Amorim the freedom to raid Sporting but This Is Manchester United We’re Talking About, and they probably will.
