'Saddened' Van Nistelrooy takes over pre-match duties

Ruud van Nistelrooy will undertake Manchester United's pre-match media duties on Thursday ahead of this weekend's game against Chelsea as the club continue talks to hire Ruben Amorim.

Former Red Devils striker Van Nistelrooy is in temporary charge while United continue to negotiate with Sporting Lisbon for the services of head coach Amorim.

The Dutchman, at the helm for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup clash with Leicester at Old Trafford, may still be in charge for Sunday’s Premier League match.

Sporting announced on Tuesday that United have agreed to pay the £8.3million release clause in Amorim’s contract.

But reports in Portugal claim the talks are now focused on which members of his backroom staff the 39-year-old will want to take with him to Manchester.

There is also reportedly a 30-day notice period in Amorim’s contract which needs to be negotiated.

Amorim spoke to reporters after Sporting’s Portuguese League Cup win over Nacional on Tuesday evening and said: "Nothing is decided yet. I don’t know if it’s the farewell game or not."

The United hierarchy moved quickly to land their top target after sacking Erik ten Hag in the wake of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

It was United’s fourth defeat in nine Premier League matches this season and left them 14th in the table.

Writing in United’s matchday programme ahead of the Leicester tie, Van Nistelrooy said he was "saddened" by Ten Hag’s departure.

He said: "As I am sure everyone can imagine, I am writing these notes with a huge amount of mixed emotions.

"Erik ten Hag brought me back to Manchester United in the summer and, while I have only been part of the coaching staff here for a few months, I will always be grateful to him for giving me the opportunity, and I am saddened to see