Portuguese refer to clause
©IMAGO
On Monday, Manchester United pulled the ripcord after persistently poor results and parted ways with coach Erik ten Hag. The search for a successor is in full swing at Old Trafford and a favorite has emerged in Rúben Amorim. Sporting Lisbon officially confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the English had expressed interest. However, the Portuguese point to the trainer’s exit clause, which is 10 million euros. Transfermarkt gives an overview of who else is among the candidates in Manchester and, in addition to Amorim, also checks other potential successors.
After the worst placement since the Premier League was founded in 1992 last season, the Red Devils are currently only in 14th place in the table. United have only won three of their first nine league games this season. The 1-2 defeat against West Ham on Sunday was apparently the last straw for the club management and ten Hag had to leave.
The previous assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy initially took over the team on an interim basis, but the Dutch club legend is said to have a chance of taking over the position of head coach permanently. Former national coach Gareth Southgate is traded, as are Brentford’s Thomas Frank and former Barcelona coach Xavi – but the Portuguese Rúben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon is currently in pole position.
Rúben Amorim (39), Sporting Lissabon
Amorim has been linked to Liverpool in the past and is also considered a possible Guardiola successor at Man City should the Spaniard leave the Citizens at the end of the season. Before his arrival in 2020, Sporting had not won a title in 19 years, but since then they have won five. Amorim, a former midfielder for Benfica and the national team, ended his playing career in 2018 and made a name for himself as a coach for the first time the following season. After an impressively short time, he was promoted from reserve coach to head coach of the senior team at SC Braga. Ten wins in the first 13 games quickly caught the attention of bigger clubs, with Sporting investing €10 million to lure Amorim to Lisbon four and a half years ago. His current contract runs until 2026.
Many experts see him as the young reformer who could initiate and successfully bring about the necessary change at United. According to information from The Times, Amorim’s release clause is 30 million euros for another Portuguese club, 20 million euros for a foreign interested party and 10 million euros for a small number of top clubs, including United. Sporting officially confirmed a request from Manchester and the English team’s willingness to pay this sum on Tuesday afternoon. The coach himself kept a low profile during a press conference on Monday. “I was already expecting this question and of course I won’t talk about the future, otherwise I’ll have to keep commenting. I’m very proud to be Sporting’s coach, that’s all.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy (48), Manchester United (Interim coach)
Van Nistelrooy was an absolute crowd favorite during his time as a player at Old Trafford. “Van the Man” scored 150 goals in 219 games and won the Premier League and FA Cup with Man United. The former striker returned to the club in the summer to become ten Hag’s assistant. He resigned as PSV coach at the end of the 2022/23 season after winning the Dutch Cup in his first season there. Van Nistelrooy said the reason was that he was not getting enough support from the club after reports of a player revolt over his training methods. The 48-year-old has also been assistant coach of the Netherlands twice, but his comparative lack of experience in the managerial position and the fact that he was involved in the disastrous performances under ten Hag’s coaching team could ultimately count against him. Van Nistelrooy will have the opportunity to make his mark on the team in the coming weeks and his chances should undoubtedly increase if results and performances improve.
Thomas Frank (51), Brentford
Only Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola can currently boast a longer consecutive tenure in the Premier League than Brentford’s Thomas Frank. The Dane has earned a reputation as one of the league’s most respected managers after bringing the Bees into the league in 2021 and safely keeping them there ever since. At the end of last year, the 51-year-old was already considered sought after by several clubs. When asked about offers, he replied: “Yes, I have them. But I doubt I’ll find a club that does everything better than Brentford.” Squad planning has been one of Brentford’s great strengths in recent years and Frank has proven his ability to build and develop a team sustainably and effectively can. Frank knows the league well, what he lacks is the experience of dealing with enormous pressure at a top club.
The Dane recently praised ten Hag as a “great coach”. When asked about the United job a few weeks ago, he said: “I have a great responsibility towards Brentford, the fans, the management, the players and the staff. (…) I am very happy here, at one of the best clubs in the world. What will happen in the future, who knows. I can imagine staying here for a very, very long time.”
Xavi (44), without a club
A LaLiga title in two and a half years wasn’t enough for Barcelona to give club legend Xavi more time in the dugout and he apparently fell foul of many people at the club during his tenure. However, the 44-year-old took over his club at a difficult time and ensured that the Catalans remained sportingly stable despite financial uncertainties and upheavals. The former midfielder is known for his attractive footballing style, which bears a bit of Pep Guardiola’s signature. The prospect of Xavi following his former mentor to the Premier League is exciting for many pundits. It is currently unclear whether there is more to the speculation and whether United is seriously looking into Xavi or whether discussions have already taken place.
Gareth Southgate (54), without a club
A rather unusual choice could be former England coach Gareth Southgate. It’s no secret that members of United’s new management think highly of the 54-year-old. However, he had recently publicly confirmed that he would take a year’s break from his coaching job, so if the club is actually interested, some persuasion might be necessary on the part of the club. For many fans and experts, his lack of experience at club level is an argument against Soutghate, who has only coached Middlesbrough to date and was anything but successful there with a points average of 1.21 points. However, his supporters approve of his experience in dealing with the media and the pressure that comes with the job as Three Lions coach.
