Man Utd 'make private demand' to Ruben Amorim as incoming boss learns transfer stance
by Aaron Morris · Wales OnlineRuben Amorim is set to face a challenging task if he takes the reins at Manchester United, considering the state Erik ten Hag has left the club in.
Currently, United are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League, having secured just three victories from their opening nine matches - a far cry from the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson when they were regularly lifting trophies. The final nail in Ten Hag's coffin came after a series of disappointing results, including crushing 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Spurs, culminating in a 2-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday.
The Dutchman was shown the exit door less than a day later, following months of speculation. It appears increasingly likely that Amorim will be announced as the new manager at Old Trafford in the next few days.
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His current club, Sporting CP, have confirmed that United have shown an interest, noting his €10m (£8.43m) release clause. And TEAMTalk claim that Amorim may look to bring in three players from his former club Sporting in centre-back Goncalo Inacio, right-winger Marcus Edwards and star forward Pedro Goncalves.
However, it's understood that co-owners INEOS have made it clear during discussions that they expect him to extract the best from the existing, expensively-assembled squad, which includes Ten Hag's underperforming summer signings, reports the Mirror. Amorim is reportedly in agreement with the club's strategy to improve the current squad rather than relying on new signings.
He believes he can turn around the team's form without resorting to the transfer market. In an attempt to improve their disappointing eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 Premier League season, United made significant investments during the summer transfer window.
The first addition was Joshua Zirkzee, a forward from Bologna, who cost £36.5million. The 23-year-old had impressed United with his tally of 14 goals and nine assists in just 58 appearances for the Serie A side. Zirkzee made an impressive start at United, scoring the winning goal in their 1-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League.
However, his form has since declined significantly. To date, Zirkzee has played 13 games in all competitions for United but hasn't found the back of the net since the opening league game in August. Following Zirkzee's arrival, United also signed Leny Yoro, a centre-half from Lille, for £52million.
However, the 18-year-old's time at Old Trafford has been fraught with difficulties. Despite being a target for Real Madrid, Yoro has yet to play a competitive match for United due to an ankle injury that required surgery during a pre-season game against Arsenal.
The highly-rated young Frenchman is expected to be fit at the end of the month, and United's executives will be keen on seeing him hit the ground running when he is back. Ten Hag next acquired Matthijs de Ligt (£42.7m) and Noussair Mazraoui (£17.2m) in a double transfer from Bayern Munich, and while both defenders have been utilised well since arriving, United have some severe holes at the back in need of patching - as shown by their lack of clean sheets this season.
United's final bit of business in the summer transfer window came in the form of centre-defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who arrived from PSG in August in a deal worth up to £50.4m including add-ons. The 23-year-old has started seven games across all competitions thus far for the Red Devils, but work may be needed to help him adapt to the English top flight.
Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently filling in as interim manager for United as they brace themselves for a flurry of tough games in the coming days. They face Leicester in the EFL Cup this evening (Wednesday) at Old Trafford before welcoming an in-form Chelsea to the North West on Sunday. It remains to be seen if Amorim will be in charge by then, given Sporting CP have a game on Friday night that could prove to be his farewell match.