‘Get him here now’ – Ferdinand reveals which Amorim trait ‘excites’ him the most amid glowing Man Utd verdict

Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Ruben Amorim after the incoming Manchester United boss helped Sporting CP shock Manchester City in the Champions League.

Viktor Gyokeres netted a hat-trick as Amorim’s final home game in charge of Sporting ended in a stunning 4-1 victory. The memorable result moved Sporting up to second in the Champions League standings prior to tonight’s fixtures and condemned City to a third successive defeat in all competitions.

Amorim said before the match that he would be considered the next Sir Alex Ferguson if he beat City, and that his stock would fall if City eased to victory.

The 39-year-old has gotten former Man Utd star Ferdinand very excited about what he might be able to achieve at Old Trafford.

On TNT Sports, Ferdinand was asked about Amorim’s ability to influence games after he tweaked his tactics at half time, which saw Sporting score twice in the early stages of the second half to put themselves 3-1 up.

The pundit said: “Yeah, that’s the important part. I was excited by the change in the dynamics of his team in the second half. How aggressive they were, how direct they went, how mobile they looked. They showed fight, they showed resilience.

“They’re important elements that you want him to bring to Man Utd because we’re lacking a lot of that as a team, but also as individuals.

“I’d like to be on the WhatsApp group of the current [United] team. After watching that – they’d have all watched this game, if they didn’t then they’re lunatics – they’d have watched this game to see what he’s bringing to the table.”

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‘Why’s he not coming tomorrow?’ – Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand added: “I’m sitting there as one of the players saying, ‘why’s he not coming tomorrow? Get him here now. I want to feel like the way I’m seeing these [Sporting] players feel at the moment. Can he inject that into us now?’

“I don’t want to get carried away. I want some good times back at Man Utd, it’s been far too negative and far too depressing of recent years. You want a little bit of sunshine there, a glimmer of hope, and hopefully this man can bring that.

“But it’s gonna take a long time, I don’t think it’s an overnight change.”

Fellow pundit James Horncastle stopped short of comparing Amorim to Ferguson, but he did note similarities with another United hero.

“Go back to United’s history… who did they find at Sporting? They found Cristiano didn’t they. Have they found the Cristiano of managers?” the journalist said.

“That’s what they’ll all be hoping. On the basis of a performance like that, I think United fans have got every reason to be excited.

“In the same way that people were excited about Ten Hag when Ajax went to the Bernabeu and won, went to Juventus and won.”

However, Horncastle went on to send Amorim a warning about the huge task he faces to make United a truly elite side once again.

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In-form striker Gyokeres scored three against City and could have had more on the night.

Amorim insists he will not raid Sporting for their best players in January, but next summer will likely be a different matter entirely.

And United have been told that Gyokeres could incredibly be ‘better’ than City’s Erling Haaland.

Gyokeres is among three Sporting players Amorim reportedly wants to reunite with at Old Trafford.

Joining him on the list are centre-backs Goncalo Inacio and Ousmane Diomande.

Reports have also named four players who could be offloaded by United as early as January, at Amorim’s request.

How has Amorim fared against English sides?

By Samuel Bannister

Amorim has come up against three different English clubs during his time in charge of Sporting: Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

His record reads more positively than negatively, although more than half of his clashes with Premier League sides have finished as draws.

In February 2022, in the Champions League round of 16, Amorim suffered a 5-0 defeat at home to Man City, before claiming a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

In the following season’s group stage, Sporting won 2-0 at home to Tottenham and drew 1-1 away. They finished third in their group, dropping down into the Europa League.

Subsequently, in March 2023, during the Europa League round of 16, Amorim oversaw two draws with Arsenal (2-2 in Lisbon and 1-1 in London) before his side won on penalties.

He certainly saved his best until last against an English club, though, with Sporting’s stunning 4-1 win over Manchester City in the league phase of the Champions League in his last home match before taking the reins at Manchester United.

Overall, Amorim has earned an average of 1.43 points per game against Premier League clubs – a tally he will be looking to improve in his new role. His goal difference against English sides is 0, since Sporting have both scored and conceded 10 goals across these seven games.

It has given Amorim a decent base to work from in terms of getting results against English clubs, but there will be much intrigue as to how he adapts on the Man Utd touchline.