Manchester United has reportedly set its sights on Portugal’s Ruben Amorim to become the next manager after sacking Erik Ten Hag on Monday.

A poor run of results since the 2023-24 campaign saw time running out for the Dutchman, who won two domestic trophies in each of his two full seasons after his appointment in 2022.

Amorim, 39, is among the brightest managerial prospects in Europe and is set to have given the green signal to Sporting Lisbon to begin negotiations with the Old Trafford-based club.

The Portuguese was linked with the manager’s role at Liverpool and West Ham United but Arne Slot and Julian Lopetegui joined the respective clubs instead.

And with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s future uncertain beyond this season, there were suggestions that Amorim could be heading to the Etihad Stadium, especially after City announced Sporting’s Hugo Viana would be joining the club as the new director of football.

What are Amorim’s achievements?

Amorim, a central midfielder in his playing days with 14 national team caps, has been the manager of Sporting since 2020 and has won multiple silverware during his time there. He won the Primeira Liga in his first full season in 2020-21 before reporting the success last campaign.

In the 2023-24 season, Sporting won the league with 90 points and scored 96 goals, while losing just twice with 27 goals conceded. In the ongoing season, Sporting has won all its nine matches in the league with a goal difference of 28 while conceding just twice.

He has also won the Portuguese League Cup three times, twice with Sporting and once with Braga, where he began his senior managerial career.

Amorim also has a good European pedigree with wins over Borussia Dortmund at home and a goalless draw away to Manchester City in his first season in the Champions League. However, City beat Sporting 5-0 in the Round of 16 first leg in Lisbon.

In the 2022-23 season, Sporting beat Tottenham Hotspur at home and held it to a draw away but eventually crashed out of the group stages. In the Europa League, it stunned Arsenal in the Round of 16 on penalties. It suffered a round of 16 exit in the Europa League next season, where it lost to eventual champion Atalanta.

In the Champions League this season, Sporting is currently placed eighth in the table after three matches. Sporting’s next two matches are against Manchester City and Arsenal at home on November 5 and 26.

Under Amorim, several players have developed into high-profile players, who now play in top European leagues. Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Manuel Ugarte (Man United via PSG), Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) and Joao Palhinha (Bayern Munich via Fulham) are among some of them.

What is Ruben Amorim’s playing style?

Amorim is known as a pragmatic coach with his preferred formation being the 3-4-3 from his time at Sporting. His line-up would be broken down with three centre-backs, two holding midfielders in front of them, two attack-minded wingbacks, two attacking midfielders and a striker.

With Sporting among the three most expensively built teams in Portugal’s top division, the club naturally plays a strong attacking brand of football.

How United could line-up under Amorim with a fully fit squad.

Amorim’s Sporting is a possession-oriented side with 59.1 per cent ball retention last season. In the previous year, it averaged 63.1%.

Sporting is fluid in possession, switching to a 3-1-3-3 with a strong emphasis on building out from the back with short passes through the lines.

His Sporting sides have shown that they like to play through the middle with the three attackers and the central midfielders and create overload in central areas by playing intricate passes amongst themselves. Sporting’s higher chance frequency and number of goals is due to the number of players pushed forward in attack.

However, it must be noted that Sporting outperformed its expected goals in the league last season by 20.5 goals thanks to the individual quality of its attacking players.

Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres has scored 12 goals in the league already and struck 29 goals last season.

Viktor Gyokeres has been key to Sporting Lisbon scoring a high volume of goals since the 2023-24 season.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

In defensive rest shape, Sporting operates in a 3-4-3 shape. While Sporting has conceded just twice this season and 29 last season (with an expected goals against (xGA) of 26.4), a lot of emphasis will be placed on the two central midfielders to cover loads of space on either side of the pitch, which could be an area of concern in the Premier League.

Defensive midfielder Ugarte, who signed for United this summer, excelled under Amorim and could find the lift-off his career needs at Old Trafford if the Portuguese takes over.

If Amorim arrives at Old Trafford, United has an exciting young manager to work with but it remains to be seen how quickly he adapts to the demands of the Premier League.