Man Utd: ‘Determined’ Ruben Amorim ‘wants’ £70m ‘major coup’ with trio tipped for imminent exits
According to reports, Ruben Amorim ‘wants’ to ‘bring’ one of his Sporting Lisbon stars ‘with him’ to Manchester United in a possible ‘major coup’.
Amorim has been named Man Utd’s head coach as he’s replaced former boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag was sacked on Monday morning after Man Utd‘s 2-1 loss at West Ham left them 14th in the Premier League after nine matches.
39-year-old Amorim was linked with Liverpool and West Ham in the summer before they appointed Arne Slot and Julen Lopetegui respectively.
Amorim is regarded as one of the best young managers in Europe as he’s helped Sporting Lisbon win the Primeira Liga twice after they went 18 years without a league title.
The Portuguese head coach officially takes over at Man Utd on November 11 so his first game will be against Ipswich Town on November 24, which is after this month’s international break.
READ: Mason Mount set to usurp Bruno Fernandes at Man Utd: The Ruben Amorim winners and losers
Amorim’s arrival could lead to Man Utd being busy in the transfer market in January and next summer. They are already being linked with possible signings and it’s been suggested that they could sign one or two players from Sporting Lisbon.
Prolific goalscorer Viktor Gyokeres has been mentioned as a potential signing, but centre-back Ousmane Diomande is also understood to be on Amorim’s radar.
Speaking after Sporting Lisbon’s 5-1 win over Estrela da Amadora on Friday night, Amorim insisted he won’t be signing players from the Primeira Liga leaders in January.
“Gyokeres costs £100m. It’s very complicated. I will not take any of Sporting’s players in January. But that’s another story,” Amorim said.
“As the supporters are concerned, these are the best years of my life. They know how much they mean to me. This is not a farewell, we have Man City and Braga to play. So no farewells yet.”
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Rooney replaces Amorim if Man Utd ’embrace the chaos’ as one ‘limitation’ proves he’s not a good fit
👉 Man Utd: Ruben Amorim reveals INEOS gave him ultimatum after he asked his ‘only question’
👉 Man Utd transfer ‘doing’ Merson’s ‘head in’ amid ‘first Amorim signing plan’ reveal – ‘losing minds’
Despite this, a report from The Sun claims Amorim ‘wants’ to sign Diomande as he’s ‘determined to adopt a three-at-the-back system in the Premier League’.
Diomande has a £70m release clause in his contract and Arsenal were linked with him in the summer. Regarding three possible exits, the report adds.
‘The formation has served him well in Portugal, and he thinks it can help deliver success at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have three top-quality centre-back options to ensure Amorim can implement his favoured three-man backline, once Leny Yoro returns to fitness.
‘A centre-back trio of Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez provides the balance at the back.
‘But United lack quality options in reserve, with Harry Maguire unlikely to be at the club for much longer. Victor Lindelof has long been linked with an exit, and, at 36, Jonny Evans won’t be around forever.
‘With that in mind, Amorim is keen to bring Ousmane Diomande to the club from Sporting. One of Europe’s most in-demand young defenders, landing him would be a major coup for United.
‘He’s previously been chased by Liverpool and Arsenal, with Bayern Munich also linked. Sporting will only be willing to sell Diomande if a club were to activate his £70m release clause.’
