Man Utd players’ true feelings on Amorim revealed as new boss names ‘incredible’ player he can’t wait to coach

The Manchester United squad are ‘optimistic of success’ under Ruben Amorim and are ‘excited’ about the prospect of playing for their new coach, a trusted source has revealed, while the players’ true feelings on Ruud van Nistelrooy have also come to light after he stepped into the interim role following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.

The Dutch coach fell on his sword on October 29 after failing to get a consistent tune from his expensively-assembled squad and with Manchester United slumped down in 14th place in the Premier League having, at the time, failed to claim a win in Europe for over a calendar year.

Te Red Devils wasted no time in picking Amorim as his successor, with United paying a £10.6m fee to release the 39-year-old from his Sporting Lisbon contract and with the new boss due to officially start work at their Carrington training complex on Monday.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United’s squad are “excited about the imminent arrival” of Amorim with a dressing room source claiming their players are “impressed” by his work in Lisbon.

Furthermore, Sporting’s 4-1 victory over Man City in the Champions League this week has created a real buzz around their training complex and there is a genuine feeling among the squad that the 39-year-old can transform the club into a major force once again.

Per the report, that is a major contrast to the mood which engulfed the club during Ten Hag’s reign, who while they ‘respected’ the Dutchman, were always aware of the growing scrutiny he was being placed under amid claims of the sack, which in turn led to an unsettled feeling in the camp.

One man who already knows about the new manager is midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who played under the coach while at Sporting Lisbon. He is understood to have fed back to the United squad about the special character the new manager is.

That feeling is also clearly mutual, with Amorim telling TNT Sports: “All the Uruguayans I managed are incredible and that’s why I love all Uruguayans… Ugarte is a very talented boy and has a lot of room to grow.

“I am very happy to know that I have him back at Manchester United!”

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Where will Van Nistelrooy fit in under Amorim at Manchester United?

Amorim is understood to be bringing five members of his backroom team at Sporting CP with him to Old Trafford.

As per the BBC, coaches Carlos Fernandes, 29, and Adelio Candido, 28, have been with Amorim since he started out as a manager with Casa Pia. Goalkeeping coach Emanuel Ferro and sports scientist Paulo Barreira are others who will reportedly also move to Old Trafford.

All that leaves a question mark over whether interim boss Van Nistelrooy will still have a place in the United coaching team under the Portuguese.

The legendary former United striker was brought back to Old Trafford over the summer as United freshened up their coaching staff alongside Ten Hag, with Steve McClaren and Mitchell van der Gaag among those making way.

He is due to sit down with Amorim on Monday, shortly after his arrival in Manchester, to discuss both where the club are at and to see if he can retain a place on the club’s coaching staff.

Per the MEN, United’s squad have also loved the atmosphere and energy the interim manager has brought to training and he has proved extremely popular among the United squad and supporters – perhaps indicating Amorim would be wise to keep the 48-year-old on board in some capacity.

He has made clear his ambitions to take charge of the club on a permanent basis himself one day, but in the meantime, he insists he has been more than happy to steady the ship.

Asked in a press conference if he’d like to take the position at some point, the Dutchman said: “Of course!

“I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to United as assistant coach, I thought that through.

“I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club also in an assistant role.

“The connection with the fans is there, there’s a good feeling that we can turn things around. That’s what is happening at the moment. Of course football being football, especially in top flight football, results are necessary and the Sunday game in that is a big one.

“It was very important after I took over to stabilise the ship with results. All of sudden we’re three games further in that. It passes so quickly and the last one, that’s the one also where it will mean a lot.”

Van Nistelrooy’s deal with United expires at the end of this season, with the club winning two and drawing one of his three matches in charge so far. His short-term reign will end on Sunday when they host Leicester in the Premier League.

Man Utd learn price to sign Alphonso Davies / Ligue 1 striker also linked

United, meanwhile, have learned the huge costs required to bring Alphonso Davies to Old Trafford in 2025.

The Bayern star will fall out of contract next summer and will be eligible to leave as a free agent. However, the Canada international will be far from cheap with initial talks between Red Devils officials seeing the player outline his outrageous demands – and leaving Sir Jim Ratcliffe with an enormous dilemma.

The Canada star could even be joined by one his international teammates at Old Trafford next year too, with United now one of six Premier League clubs having expressed an interest in signing Lille frontman Jonathan David in the January window.

With regards left-backs, United are also understood to be looking into the potential return of Alvaro Fernandez Carreras to Old Trafford.

Amorim is also understood to be weighing up a potential move, with United having an advantage over their rivals owing to a buy-back clause they inserted into his deal.

He left the northwest in a cut-price deal for Benfica, where he has since realised his full potential. And while United do have a tempting re-signing clause in his deal, any move for the Red Devils is not as straight forward as it would seem and we can exclusively reveal the binds that exist before that clause becomes active.

Amorim record at Sporting compared to Ten Hag at Ajax