Manchester United are set to pay the €10 million required to hire Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s replacement, Sporting CP confirmed Tuesday.
United entered talks with Sporting hours after firing Ten Hag as manager on Monday.
There’s now hope to have Amorim in place for Sunday’s match against Chelsea, according to ESPN’s Mark Ogden.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to take charge of United’s League Cup match against Leicester City on Wednesday.
Sporting said in a statement obtained by The Independent’s Miguel Delaney that United had expressed willingness to trigger Amorim’s €10-million release clause in his contract, which still has a year and a half left. Sporting are obligated to report all financial information to the Securities Market Commission in Lisbon.
Sporting have also moved quickly to replace the 39-year-old, with The Guardian’s Marcus Christenson reporting Joao Pereira, head coach of the club’s reserve team, as their next manager.
Pereira won the Primeira Liga under Amorim in 2021 before retiring and becoming an assistant for the club’s under-23 side.
Amorim has been linked with a number of job openings in England over the last two years. Chelsea reportedly approached the 39-year-old before hiring Mauricio Pochettino in 2023, and he was on Liverpool’s short list of candidates to replace Jurgen Klopp. Amorim flew to London to interview for the vacancy at West Ham United in May but later apologized to fans in Portugal for doing so.
United parted with Ten Hag and installed assistant and former striker Van Nistelrooy as caretaker manager days after a 2-1 loss to West Ham extended their worst start to a season in 35 years. The Red Devils are also winless in the Europa League after three matches.
It’s the first managerial change INEOS has overseen since founder Jim Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in February. The club extended Ten Hag’s contract until June 2026 after conducting an internal review and interviews with outside candidates, including Thomas Tuchel, who was briefly available after leaving Bayern Munich.
England’s national team appointed Tuchel as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor earlier this month.
United have reportedly held Brentford’s Thomas Frank in high esteem for some time but would have to pay double the amount to release him from his contract.
Amorim has enjoyed another incredible start at Sporting. The team is currently 9-0-0 in Portugal’s Primeira Liga with 30 goals scored and just two against. It’s also in eighth place in the Champions League table – good enough to qualify automatically for the knockout round – after winning two of its first three games.
Sporting are also set to lose sporting director Hugo Viana to Manchester City. Viana reportedly struck a deal with the reigning Premier League champions to replace Txiki Begiristain as their new director of football, sparking rumors that Amorim would follow him to the Etihad as Pep Guardiola’s eventual successor.
United have anticipated any move with a preemptive strike of their own.
