Manchester United
Premier League • England
Report names FOUR signings Amorim could make at Man Utd including Liverpool target and unstoppable striker
Ruben Amorim is closing in on becoming the next Manchester United manager and a report has named four signings he could immediately look to make.
Amorim, 39, has ‘verbally agreed’ to become the new manager of Man Utd. The Red Devils are prepared to activate Amorim’s €10m release clause, though Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to remain in interim charge for the upcoming EFL Cup clash with Leicester (Wednesday) and Premier League fixture with Chelsea (Sunday).
Amorim will inherit a squad that has been expensively assembled, though largely underperformed under former boss Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman regularly signed players who were Dutch, played for Ajax or who he’d previously managed earlier in his career.
A report from The Daily Express has now detailed four signing Amorim could make if adopting a similar outlook to Ten Hag.
The quartet in question are Sporting stars Goncalo Inacio, Nuno Santos, Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyokeres.
Of those four, Inacio and Gyokeres would be by far the most eye-catching additions for wildly differing reasons…
Man Utd can disrupt Liverpool succession plan
It’s important to note Amorim has primarily deployed a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation at Sporting. Should he stick to his guns at Old Trafford, a greater emphasis will be placed on United’s centre-back corps.
That’s where Inacio fits it, with the 23-year-old tailor-made to playing in a back three. However, that’s not stopped bitter rivals Liverpool from taking a keen interest in the Portugal international.
The left-footer has been identified as a potential successor to Virgil van Dijk pending the outcome of talks over a contract extension.
Transfer insider Rudy Galetti told TEAMtalk on October 19 that Inacio is the ‘first name’ on Liverpool’s centre-back shortlist.
If Amorim is installed at Man Utd, the presence of the Portuguese manager could go a long way to steering Inacio to Old Trafford and away from Anfield.
The other eye-catching addition would unquestionably be Gyokeres who has blazed a trail through Primeira Liga defences.
Gyokeres scored 43 goals in 50 matches across all competitions to help fire Sporting to their second league title under Amorim last season. He’s upped his ratio to a goal per game so far this season (14 goals in 14 appearances).
The 26-year-old has also been linked with Manchester City in the event they need to replace Erling Haaland over the coming years. The Norwegian is wanted at both Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Arsenal are another circling over Gyokeres, meaning Man Utd would need to use all of Amorim’s pull to ensure they’re the ones to bring Gyokeres back to England. The Sweden international previously played for Brighton, Swansea City (loan) and Coventry City before joining Sporting.
Nuno Santos plays up and down the left side, though at 29, would only represent a short-term option.
Central midfielder Morten Hjulmand, 25, was repeatedly linked with Man Utd over the summer long before Amorim emerged as the leading candidate to take charge.
Hjulmand could be viewed as a younger and hungrier replacement for Casemiro. However, it’s important to remember Manuel Ugarte arrived just a few months ago and the Uruguayan previously made his name in European football by starring for Amorim at Sporting (2021-23).
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag sack: The five lowest points of Dutchman’s troubled tenure at Man Utd
Ruben Amorim to Man Utd latest
Man Utd held talks with former Barcelona boss Xavi last week. But per The Daily Mail, United swerved Xavi and put their full focus on Amorim for two reasons.
They claimed the first was Xavi’s unwillingness to accept a new role mid-season. The second issue related to Xavi’s family and the inconvenience of moving to England at this moment.
The report added there is a ‘family issue that would make it difficult for him to move to England before the end of the campaign.’
Man Utd are fully open to paying the €10m fee it will take to spring Amorim from his Sporting contract.
His deal at Sporting contains a three-tiered release clause, with Portuguese clubs required to pay €30m, most European clubs due to pay €20m and seven of the biggest teams required to pay the smallest fee of €10m.
Portuguese outlet A Bola claim Man Utd fall into the third category, meaning they’ll only need to pay €10m to spring Amorim from his deal in Lisbon. The other six clubs in that category are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City and Juventus.
Elsewhere, talkSPORT stated Amorim is in line to more than treble his existing salary, believed to be £2.15m per year.
However, The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson revealed it is currently “unlikely” that Amorim will be in place in time for Man Utd’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday.
United face Leicester in the EFL Cup on Wednesday before attention turns to Chelsea. Per Jackson, interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is likely to remain in charge for both of those matches.
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Ruben Amorim achievements
- Won three consecutive Portuguese League Cup titles between 2020 and 2022, first with Braga (beating Porto in the final) and then twice with Sporting (with final wins against Braga and Benfica).
- Won the Portuguese league title in his first full season with Sporting (2020/21), finishing five points clear at the top of the table, and was named the division’s manager of the season.
- Became the first manager in over a decade to lead Sporting to the knockout stage of the Champions League in the 2021/22 campaign, narrowly finishing above third-placed Borussia Dortmund in their group.
- Became the fastest manager to reach 50 Primeira Liga wins in November 2021, in just his 66th game on the touchline.
- Was named the Primeira Liga’s manager of the season for a second time when winning the league again with Sporting in 2024, this time by a 10-point margin.