Man Utd ignore Van Nistelrooy’s ‘aura and charisma’ for Amorim as he was ‘not an INEOS hire’
According to a report, Man Utd internally discussed three other managers before prioritising Sporting’s Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s replacement.
Amorim is set to replace Ten Hag at Old Trafford following the Dutchman’s dismissal earlier this week.
Defeat at West Ham on Sunday was evidently the straw that broke the camel’s back with Man Utd lingering in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Man Utd’s new hierarchy, led by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, decided to extend Ten Hag’s contract by 12 months in the summer despite the club’s worst finish in Premier League history.
Winning the FA Cup final against Man City obviously sold Ratcliffe and co a dream, but it was not to be and Ten Hag has been sacked less than three months into the season.
Amorim is expected to come in as the Red Devils’ new head coach with assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy in interim charge until his appointment.
It has been reported that Van Nistelrooy is not under consideration for the head coach role on a permanent basis, perhaps because he was brought in through Ten Hag, not INEOS.
Ten Hags sacked: Man Utd ‘looked at Allegri’ before pushing for Amorim
According to a report from The Athletic, ‘some around the club believed Van Nistelrooy would be given a real run at managing the team’ while there was a ‘thorough process on a permanent replacement’, however, ‘that outcome would have presented a point of intrigue given Ten Hag had brought his compatriot in’.
Still, Ratcliffe ‘admires’ the club’s former striker, whose ‘aura and charisma have been commented on at Carrington since his appointment to the staff in the summer’.
Regardless of this, Van Nistelrooy ‘was not an INEOS hire’, rather ‘a proposal by Ten Hag’s agent Kees Vos when discussions took place over refreshing the coaching setup’.
Reports elsewhere claim the 48-year-old ‘expects to leave’ Man Utd when his interim spell ends, with the club’s hierarchy in negotiations with Sporting over Amorim’s move to Old Trafford.
These negotiations could see Van Nistelrooy take charge of the Carabao Cup match against Leicester City on Wednesday, as well as the Premier League clashes against Chelsea and the Foxes, with a Europa League clash against PAOK sandwiched in between.
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The report also discusses the club’s managerial search, which included discussions over appointing three unemployed managers.
Indeed, Amorim was immediately ‘high in their thoughts’ after looking at him in the summer and is deemed ‘the kind of bullish appointment that appeals to Ratcliffe’.
Furthermore, Ratcliffe and his staff appreciate the 39-year-old’s ‘strong personality capable of bringing glamour and attractive football to the club’.
He was not the only manager Man Utd considered pursuing. They also ‘looked at Max Allegri’, who left Juventus towards the end of last season.
Former Barcelona head coach and ex-Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic also ‘came up in discussions’.
It is stated:
United also looked at Max Allegri, but the 57-year-old former Juventus manager was viewed as someone far less likely to build for the long term in the way that Amorim could. Edin Terzic, 41, currently out of work having stepped down after leading Borussia Dortmund to last season’s Champions League final, came up in discussions too. [Thomas] Tuchel was not considered on this occasion, prompting him to accept the England job this month.
There were also talks about Xavi, the 44-year-old who left Barcelona in the summer after three seasons in charge, but not to a serious degree, and United’s executives kept coming back to Amorim. They wanted to have matters lined up before making a change so there was no prospect of another unseemly tour of candidates emerging in public.
Berrada and Ashworth flew to Lisbon to progress negotiations on Amorim once Ten Hag was told of his fate at Carrington on Monday morning.
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