Manchester United Eyeing Ruben Amorim Even As He Says 'Nothing Decided Yet'

Manchester United are reportedly closing in on their top managerial target Ruben Amorim even though the Sporting Lisbon coach said "nothing is decided yet" when it came to him replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag. As United prepared on Wednesday to play their first game since they dismissed Ten Hag, facing Leicester in the League Cup at Old Trafford, behind the scenes 39-year-old Amorim appears to be their number one choice to take over the hotseat. United pulled the plug on Ten Hag's two-year reign as manager on Monday after a 2-1 defeat by West Ham left them 14th in the Premier League.

Amorim quickly emerged as the leading contender to succeed the Dutchman and Sporting issued a statement to the Lisbon stock exchange on Tuesday confirming United were willing to meet his 10-million-euro ($10.8 million) release clause.

Sky Sports on Wednesday quoted a source at Sporting saying Amorim's move at Old Trafford was a "done deal", but the club remained tightlipped.

Amorim was guarded when asked after Sporting's League Cup win against Nacional on Tuesday if it was his last match with the club.

"Nobody knows whether this was my farewell match. Nothing is decided yet," he said.

Despite spending heavily in the transfer market in the summer, Ten Hag paid the price for United's poor start to the season.

They have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions.

United have appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim boss but Amorim, who is considered one of Europe's leading young coaches, is reportedly the leading contender to take over on a permanent basis.

The former Portugal international midfielder has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.

He was briefly linked with the manager's role