Manchester United’s hopes of getting Ruben Amorim in as their manager ASAP has hit a major snag.
United are in advanced talks with Sporting after verbally agreeing personal terms with Amorim to succeed the sacked Erik ten Hag.
It was hoped among the Old Trafford hierarchy that Amorim would be appointed in time to take the team for their Premier League clash at home to Chelsea on Sunday.
However, this is in huge doubt as the 39-year-old has a 30-day notice period in his contract, talkSPORT understands.
Sporting want to keep Amorim in the job until the November international break but Man United are in talks with the Portuguese champions to get him in sooner.
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The incoming Red Devils boss would prefer to have his Sporting swansong on Friday night where they face Estrela Amadora in the Primeira Liga but wants to be respectful to his club.
It’s also understood Amorim would prefer to leave before Sporting face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Amorim had been identified as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but sources in Portugal say he was not willing to wait for the Spaniard to make a decision over his future.
City insiders say Amorim’s style of play does not fit perfectly with their squad and there is also growing confidence Guardiola will stay for at least one more season when his contract expires in the summer.
United met Amorim last week to lay the foundations for him to replace Ten Hag having decided they were not making rapid enough progress under the Dutchman in terms of performances and results.
Meanwhile, separate negotiations are ongoing regarding taking three backroom staff members including long-term assistant Carlos Fernandez.
With Amorim’s departure now an open secret, the former Portugal midfielder was forced to comment after his side’s 3-1 Taca da Liga win over Nacional on Tuesday night.
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“Nothing is decided yet. I don’t know if it’s the farewell game or not,” he said.
“We have to wait a little bit more to explain everything I need to explain and then everything will be very clear.
“It’s my decision. I will tell everything so we have to wait. That’s it.”
Sporting’s win moved them to the semi-finals of the Taca, a competition they have won two times already under Amorim.
In fact, the Lisbon giants have picked up five titles under the coaching sensation, including their first league title in 19 years in 2021 before a follow up in 2024.
They currently lead this season’s league table by three points from Porto with a whopping goal difference of +28 after nine games.
That’s a huge contrast to United, who are off to their worst-ever Premier League start.
Despite ending last season with an FA Cup win over rivals City, Ten Hag led the team to a record of four wins, six draws and four defeats in all competitions in 2024/25 before his firing.
In the Premier League United had three wins and four defeats, leaving them in 14th after a damning defeat to an out-of-sorts West Ham side.
