Man United begins the process to appoint Erik ten Hag’s replacement

In the wake of Erik ten Hag’s dismissal at Manchester United, the club is looking to appoint Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.

Ten Hag was appointed in April 2022 and went on to lead the club to the League Cup title in his first season in charge as well as the FA Cup last season. 

The former Ajax head coach was retained as United manager in the summer following an end-of-season assessment by the club’s hierarchy but an underwhelming start to the season brought about his dismissal on Monday.

According to reports, Ruben Amorim, 39, is open to replacing Ten Hag and United are ready to pay the €10million (£8.3m) release clause in his contract with the two clubs in talks to finalise a deal.

Ruben Amorim has become one of the most sought after young coaches in Europe following a successful stint with Sporting which has seen him won the Primeira Liga title in 2021 and again last season while also winning the Taca da Liga — the Portuguese League Cup — on two occasions with Sporting and a third time with his previous club, Braga.

Amorim was next in line to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before the club instead, settled for Arne Slot. He also held talks over replacing David Moyes at West Ham, but later apologized and called the meeting “a mistake”.

He has created an image as a coach who likes to field young players while also improving individual player performance – a major problem Manchester United have had to endure during the latter days of Erik Ten Hag.

The former Benfica midfielder is a three-time league champion and registered 14 caps for the Portugal national team. He prides in his philosophy of high possession, flexible attacking approaches and a strong defensive foundation which is built on a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1 setup.

Meanwhile, Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to lead Manchester United in an interim capacity against Leicester in Wednesday’s fourth round tie of the Carabao Cup, before Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Chelsea.