Guillem Balague has revealed that Ruben Amorim could decide to snub Man Utd and wait for the Man City job, according to reports.
Erik ten Hag was dismissed on Monday, a day after Man Utd suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season at West Ham, dropping to 14th in the table. They have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.
Within hours of that announcement being made, reports said the Old Trafford club were willing to pay the 10 million euros (£8.3million) release clause to secure 39-year-old Amorim, whose Sporting Lisbon side sit top of the Portuguese table.
Amorim has won two Portuguese titles and two League Cups with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.
In recent weeks he has been suggested as a future Man City manager, with Sporting’s Hugo Viana, a close friend, due to move to the blue half of Manchester as the club’s new director of football next season.
And now Spanish football expert Balague has heard that Amorim could now wait for the Man City job with Man Utd making an approach for Fulham boss Marco Silva, who has also had a spell as Everton manager.
Balague wrote on X on Monday night: “I hear from Portugal a new possibility. Ruben Amorim might decide to wait for City if Pep leaves. But United pushing for a deal And Marco Silva has also been approached by Manchester United.”
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The news that Ten Hag had been sacked didn’t take too many people by surprise with Man Utd legend Gary Neville insisting he “thought it was coming”.
Neville said on Sky Sports: “I thought it was coming. Looking at that Tottenham game a few weeks ago I felt I had seen this before. It was a bad day for Manchester United and a bad day for Erik ten Hag.
“It’s got worse form then, yesterday the missed chances were unacceptable, they should have been two or three up at halftime.
“Overall, the challenges of the results and performances have meant that the owners have decided to sack him. I don’t think anybody will be truly shocked this morning.
“I suspect the Tottenham game was probably a catalyst for them to start thinking about a new manager.
“You look at who is available then you try to think of the timing. You are half hoping the manager can turn it around but 99 times out of 100, the tide is against you and continues to do so.
“They have chosen a moment that was decided a few weeks ago. That has come yesterday.
“They would have started the process of finding Erik ten Hag’s successor.”
