Next Man Utd manager: Bruno Fernandes teases move for Liverpool target as Klopp, Guardiola earn lavish praise

Bruno Fernandes has endorsed the merits of Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim amid suggestions he is a contender to be the next Manchester United or Liverpool manager – but the Portuguese star has ghosted Erik ten Hag while praising both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola in a conversation about the best managers in the world.

The Red Devils have badly struggled for consistency this season, but did manage to salvage their season – and potentially Ten Hag’s job – with a hard-fought come-from-behind (twice) 4-3 victory against Liverpool in the FA Cup. That gives Manchester United a great chance to reach a second-successive FA Cup final with Championship outfit Coventry lying in wait in the last four.

However, perhaps only victory in the competition, which represents United’s last trophy hope, as well as a return to the Champions League next season can probably save Ten Hag from the axe, amid claims a decision on his future has already been reached and that United were ‘confident’ of landing their ‘overwhelming choice’ to take the job.

DON’T MISS ~ Ten Hag sack: The eight Man Utd players whose standards have most dipped and leave Dutchman on the brink of axe

Either way, speculation has begun to gather pace that new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and incoming new sporting director Dan Ashworth have held extensive talks over both the future for Ten Hag, whose deal expires in summer 2025, and a potential replacement.

Per reports, they have drawn up a shortlist for the post, led by Gareth Southgate but with other candidates, such as Thomas Frank, Roberto De Zerbi and Julian Nagelsmann on their wanted list.

However, one name who has persistently been linked and will surely be of temptation to United in Sporting coach Amorim.

The 39-year-old has been compared to Jose Mourinho in Portuguese circles after his early rise to coaching super-stardom in his homeland.

Next Man Utd manager: Bruno Fernandes hails qualities of Ruben Amorim

He has also appeared on the wanted list of Liverpool, who are very much in the hunt for a new manager themselves.

Any deal for Amorim would cost his suitors quite a hefty chunk with Sporting CP protected by a significant €30m (£25.6m) exit clause.

However, in a discussion with Portuguese paper A Bola about a list of far-reaching subjects, Fernandes appears to have talked up the merits of the 2021 title winner as a contender for the Man Utd job.

READ MORE: Bruno Fernandes namedrops €220m Sporting CP trio he loves in future hint at Man Utd transfers

“If he really takes the next step – and I hope he stays at Sporting – but if he takes the next step, I think the qualities are all there to be able to succeed in English, French, or Spanish football,” Fernandes said.

“Obviously, we know that the Premier League is probably the most desired. The qualities (to succeed in England) are there. And he (Amorim) has everything to take the next step, in my opinion.

“But it will depend of the clubs, the directors, whether they want to pay the Sporting’s release clause or not. There are many components.

“But I think that the manager Ruben Amorim is prepared for the next leap.”

Fernandes was also asked for his opinion on who he sees as the greatest managers in the game right now and the Man Utd skipper had no hesitation in naming departing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola of arch rivals Manchester City as two of the best in the business.

Ten Hag ghosted as Man Utd skipper piles praise on Klopp and Guardiola

However, in lavishing praise on the pair, his telling omission of Ten Hag from his list served a bit of a damning verdict on the United boss.

Discussing Guardola first, Fernandes told A Bola: “We are talking about the best coach in the world, without a shadow of a doubt.

“He is probably the coach who most changed the game of football. Nowadays, everyone wants to be Guardiola, there’s no need to hide that.

“All teams, from the second to the first divisions, everyone tries to play like City and everyone tries to find the dynamics that City has, because they have results and success.

“For me, having praise from a coach like Guardiola is something spectacular, because, as I said, we are talking about a coach that I really appreciate and who, for me, today, is the best coach in the world.”

Fernandes was equally rich in his praise of Klopp, also speaking in high praise of the German, who will depart Anfield at the end of the season.

“We are talking about a coach who is one of the ones I most appreciate, for the intensity he brings to games and the passion he has for football,” Fernandes said of Klopp.

“I think what he did now is yet another demonstration of how much he loves football. He feels that, if he is not at his best, he is not giving his best to the game. And I think a little like that too, in the same way as him, probably.

“He is a coach who changed the dynamics of Liverpool, who brought hope to the club. If we look at it, Klopp is the coach who has probably won the fewest titles and, even so, achieved the most in terms of the passion of the world of football, the passion of the fans, the transformation he brought to a club.

IN DEPTH: Incredible Man Utd XI for 2024/25 as Ratcliffe rebuild takes full shape with several blockbuster incomings

“He won big titles, he won the Premier League, the Champions League, and some cups, but the biggest prize he will take away from these years will be the flame, the passion and the new dynamics he brought and which made Liverpool once again believe in being [a] champion, in being able to fight for titles, in being among the best.

“That’s something that no one will ever take away from Klopp. We are talking about another coach who really influences my passion for football.”