Manchester United

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Portuguese football expert Tom Kundert says "you cannot overstate the job" Ruben Amorim has done at Sporting Lisbon since his appointment in March 2020.

"He's a hugely successful coach in his career so far," said Kundert on BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast. "He's a coach with a bit of a Midas touch.

"You cannot overstate the job he has done at Sporting. He came into a club that was in such disarray they had not won the Championship in 19 years, but he then won it in his first season.

"He also won it last season in his fourth year, and they are absolutely flying this season. That gives you a snapshot of what he has done.

"You could say that he has changed Portuguese football."

Amorim says he has not yet made a decision about his future after Manchester United expressed an interest in appointing him manager.

Meanwhile, Portuguese football journalist Mariana Fernandes told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: "Amorim is the most amazing thing to happen in Portuguese football in the last couple of years.

"He has become the most important manager in Sporting's history."

Listen to the bonus episode on Amorim on BBC Sounds

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Erik ten Hag leaving Manchester United can be called many things, but it can't be called a shock. Maybe the writing was on the wall when he got the backing of Jose Mourinho last week, that’s all he needed.

‌You can twist the statistics, bemoan the injuries and even understand it has been a dysfunctional club for many years under a variety of managers and of course owners too. You can say all that, but does it look anywhere close to a team that is capable of competing anytime soon at the very highest table? Absolutely not.

‌When Ineos took over I said here that I would be surprised if they kept Ten Hag on this season, but to their credit they gave him a chance to turn things around. To be fair there have been ups with the downs. On Sunday they could have seen them take all three points if they had been even adequate at taking their chances.

‌The new decision-makers have had enough time to look at it and decide that it wasn’t worth sticking with the project and I can’t blame them. The recruitment has been nowhere near good enough and that, above all else, is the damning indictment.

‌Today, the real Jim Ratcliffe journey begins. Ten Hag has been the lightning rod for anger, now the new team and whoever is their new manager will have to bear the brunt.

‌If I am honest I don’t envy any of them with the size of the task ahead.

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Manchester United fans Flex and Aaron Moniz believe United remain an "attractive proposition" for any manager and say that it is up to Ineos to convince the incoming manager of the changes they have made at the club.

Watch The Football News Show on iPlayer

Was a lack of style and strategy key in Erik ten Hag's downfall?

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown discussed the question on The Football News Show.

Watch the episode

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester United officials will now try to sort the details around Ruben Amorim's switch to Old Trafford from Sporting.

Sporting have confirmed United are willing to pay Amorim's €10m (£8.3m) release clause but there is also his backroom staff and a potential issue over how long the 39-year-old has to spend on 'gardening leave' before he can start another job.

These are the issues which underline why Amorim was so evasive when he spoke to the media after last night's victory over Nacional.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is due to be in charge for Wednesday's EFL Cup tie with Leicester but beyond that, the situation - for United, Sporting and Amorim - is uncertain.

Sporting play Estrela on Friday (which probably means another pre-match press conference on Thursday if Amorim is still in charge), while United play Chelsea on Sunday (and a press conference ahead of that for Van Nistelrooy if needed).

Intriguingly, Sporting play Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.

City have ruled out any interest in appointing Amorim as Pep Guardiola's successor.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Ruben Amorim, who could potentially take charge of their neighbours Manchester United.

The 39-year-old has reportedly been on City's radar to replace Guardiola should he choose to leave Etihad Stadium, but Amorim looks set to head to the other side of Manchester.

"All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben's Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good," Guardiola said in a news conference on Tuesday.

"I spoke with Matheus Nunes, he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League [they are on] the same points as us.

"Manchester United don't appoint managers who aren't that level so the five, six, seven years, we cannot say they are not able to lead United.

"So what's going to happen I don't know, because what happened here in my experience here doesn't mean it works for the other ones. Everyone is everyone, the manager is the team, the club, the structures, the physios, the doctors, the players, it's many things.

"What happened here doesn't mean it's going to happen in another place."

In a special The Devils' Advocate podcast, BBC Radio Manchester's Bill Rice takes a look through the career of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim, with the Portuguese the current frontrunner in the race for the Manchester United managerial hot seat.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester United hope to appoint Sporting manager Ruben Amorim in time for Sunday's Premier League match against Chelsea at Old Trafford. (Times - subscription required), external

However, Manchester United are locked in talks with Sporting over Amorim's notice period, which is a number of weeks. (Mail), external

Amorim will still be in charge for Sporting's next league fixture on Friday, before travelling to Manchester. (CNN Portugal), external

The 39-year-old Portuguese manager wants to sign Sporting and Portugal centre-back Goncalo Inacio, English winger Marcus Edwards and Portuguese forward Pedro Goncalves, once he is at Manchester United. (Teamtalk), external

Interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy expects to leave the club when Amorim is appointed. (Independent), external

Whoever succeeds Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager will have a limited budget to strengthen the squad in January. (Guardian), external

Manchester United are interested in signing 23-year-old Bayern Munich and Canada full-back Alphonso Davies, but the player is set on a move to Real Madrid. (Sky Sports Switzerland, via Give Me Sport), external

The club will cut their losses on £86m Brazil winger Antony, 24, following Erik ten Hag's sacking. (Talksport), external

Want more gossip? Read Wednesday's full column

As Erik ten Hag's reign as Manchester United boss comes to an end, the latest episode of The Football News Show reflects on the highs and lows of his tenure.

They also ask who fans want to see next at Old Trafford, with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim in the frame to take over.

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer

Manchester United sacked manager Erik ten Hag on Monday, with the club 14th in the Premier League table, and Ruben Amorim has been heavily linked to the vacancy at Old Trafford.

Aside from the search for a new boss, what is the one thing nobody is talking about - good or bad - but should be?

Send us your thoughts, external

BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone speaks to The Football News Show about Manchester United's decision to sack manager Erik ten Hag and why the club's hierarchy may see this as an opportunity for a "new start" at Old Trafford.

Watch The Football News Show in full

ESPN's Mark Ogden says Manchester United "would do really well" to replace Erik ten Hag with current Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim.

Ogden said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "There's a bit of [Jose] Mourinho about him. He's a real character.

"If they can get him over the line, it would be an extremely good appointment given the situation the club are in.

"He is, however, said to be high on Manchester City's list [should Pep Guardiola leave]. Sporting are at the top of the league in Portugal, they've won nine games out of nine and they haven't lost a game in the Champions League.

"He is very highly rated within Europe and United would do really well to get him."

Listen to more on Amorim on BBC Sounds

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"Diplomatic" Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim is "special", says Portuguese football journalist Jose Delgado.

Manchester United are understood to be in talks about appointing the 39-year-old as Erik ten Hag's replacement following the Dutchman's sacking on Monday.

Amorim is a highly regarded coach who has previously been linked with other jobs in the Premier League.

"Since Jose Mourinho, he is the most exciting Portuguese coach and we have had many, many good coaches," Delgado told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Amorim is special. Because of being special, only after 13 games in the first division, Sporting paid 10m euros to Braga to have him. Sporting was struggling, they had many problems and people asked Amorim if it was not a big risk he was taking.

"But things went very right in Sporting. They won two leagues, three League Cups and one Super Cup and made a fantastic team.

"Every year the team is stronger with more ideas and his leadership is very, very good. Not in the Mourinho style, Amorim is more diplomatic. He goes to the problems and speaks about them openly and that gives him success."

If the Portuguese is to take charge at United, he will be taking on a team that has a number of Ten Hag-bought players in it.

"If he has any sense he will ask for the squad to be gutted," chief Manchester United reporter at Manchester Evening News, Samuel Luckhurst, added.

"Because that was another mistake that they made in the summer, it was another Dutch-centric transfer window.

"You don't have to be a sporting director, manager or board member to know that there was no sense in just signing players in the manager's image. United needed to become a much more sophisticated operation."

Alex Turk
Fan writer

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A lack of identity after spending £600m in less than three years, a failure to control matches, a struggle to maintain leads and a woeful goalscoring record all contributed to Erik ten Hag's downfall.

Off the pitch, Ten Hag was culpable for shooting himself in the foot during his increasingly bemusing comments during interviews and press conferences.

His insistence that United's second season was a "success" was the catalyst for most of the fanbase to turn against him in recent months.

It was a bold stance while his team was in the bottom half of the Premier League and Europa League tables. It was also a hill he ultimately died on.

What next? Ruud van Nistelrooy will receive a hero's welcome on Wednesday when United host Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. The Dutch legend's Old Trafford return was heralded among excited fans in the summer and he will be passionately backed for as long as his interim tenure lasts.

But that is all it should be. United must retain Van Nistelrooy on the coaching staff while appointing a manager with more established credentials.

The chosen candidate appears to be Ruben Amorim of Sporting. He's won two Liga Portugal titles and two Taca da Ligas across a four-year reign in Lisbon. Established credentials... check.

Only 39, the attack-minded coach, loyal to his 3-4-3 system, already has a taste for silverware and a track record of helping young players thrive while also representing an attractive long-term option.

The concept of snatching him from Manchester City's grasp - amid talk of Amorim replacing Pep Guardiola next summer - is a bonus. But this is about United, and Ineos couldn't currently select a more exciting option.

Find more from Alex Turk at Stretford Paddock, external

Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan says Ruud van Nistelrooy did not join in the summer with the intention of replacing Erik ten Hag, it was simply "because he loves the club so much" and could see him himself helping the players.

Van der Kraan thinks United pressed Van Nistelrooy hard to stay at the club given Ten Hag has left.

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

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Giving Erik ten Hag more time before sacking him is a "double fault" from Manchester United's owners and leaves them "even more behind" - that is the view of former United midfielder and 1999 Treble winner Jesper Blomqvist.

There had been reports that the club's ownership had looked at potential replacements for Ten Hag in the summer before deciding to stick with the Dutchman.

A difficult start to the season, however, saw the 54-year-old sacked on Monday following a 2-1 defeat by West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.

"Not a big surprise [he has gone] but it should have been done in the summer," said Blomqvist on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Now it became a double fault from Ineos, and the directors, giving him more time [after] they bought his players and everything and then still sacked him a couple of months later.

"Now they're really even more behind and they’ve got a squad of players that maybe will be hard for the next manager to find the right place for."

Ex-United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been placed in caretaker charge, but reports suggest that current Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim is the long-term target.

Blomqvist feels that whoever comes in next, the job will be "even harder" for them now they are part way through the season.

"It always makes it much harder to implement [your style]," he said. "You don't have any time at all to implement your tactics and you're straight into the lion's den.

"It will be really tough for the new manager to come in and change things. On the other hand, it has been quite bad results so the possibility of making it better is quite good anyway - lots of room for improvement."

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton does not believe that Erik ten Hag was "overwhelmed" by the Manchester United job but "there has been a massive regression" since their first season under the Dutchman.

"I don't think it has overwhelmed him," Sutton told the BBC Radio 5 Live Monday Night Club. "But I think some of his post-match press conferences were delusional towards the end as he was seeing a totally different game to what everyone else was.

"He did well first season and we all have sympathy for the mess he took over. It was toxic when he went in and I'm not sure it is much better now.

"He had the problems with Ronaldo, was undermined by Jadon Sancho and had issues with Marcus Rashford. So he has had a lot to contend with.

"But is all comes down to supporters seeing progress on the pitch. There was in the first season but there has been a massive regression and the fact that he has spent a massive amount of money comes into the equation."

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds