Manchester United are closing in on Ruben Amorim in a move that would reunite the Portuguese coach with his former midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
Sporting Lisbon confirmed on Tuesday that United are ready to meet Amorim’s £8.3million release clause having made him their top target to replace Erik ten Hag.
United captain Bruno Fernandes has made no secret of his admiration for his compatriot having previously backed him to be a major success in English football.
Summer signing Ugarte will be another eager to welcome Amorim to Old Trafford after their two seasons together at Sporting.
The Uruguay international joined Sporting for a modest fee of £4.5m from another Portuguese club in Famalicao in August 2021, initially brought in to provide cover for Joao Palhinha in the middle of the park. Amorim’s trust in him grew however and by December that year, he was selected to start ahead of the Portugal international in the derby victory against Benfica.
‘Ugarte has already proven that he is ready to be number six this season,’ Amorim said. ‘We all sleep much more peacefully in the coaching team, because last year [Joao] Palhinha suffered a lot of wear and tear.
‘Now, if Palhinha fails, we are more relaxed, because we have a player of great quality and with more similar characteristics. He is a great player and a great signing for Sporting CP also because of the person he is.’
Ugarte went onto play in every game for the remainder of that season, solidifying his place in the team.
In the summer of 2022, Palhinha left the club, joining Fulham where he would become an immediate success in the Premier League. Ugarte meanwhile went from strength to strength and started all but six of Sporting’s Primeira Liga matches during the 2022-23 season, also starring in their impressive Champions League wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham.
A 2-1 defeat to the Germans in the reverse fixture ultimately cost them a place in the knockout stages but Amorim was still full of praise for his fighting midfielder.
‘They gave everything,’ the manager said. ‘We wanted to have fresh players and keep our idea going. It was a forced substitution, as I wasn’t going to take Ugarte off because even though he was tired, he was a player who always fought a lot -with and without the ball.’
Sporting missed out on the Portuguese title that season and in the summer 2023, Ugarte said goodbye, joining Paris Saint-Germain for £51m having turned down a move to Chelsea.
Following his departure, Sporting signed Denmark international Morten Hjulmand, a player Amorim had admired for some time.
In assessing the differences between Ugarte and Hjulmand, Amorim spoke openly about some of the deficiencies in the Uruguayan – notably, his ability to ‘read the game’.
“They are completely different characteristics’, Amorim said in September 2023. ‘Morten doesn’t have Ugarte’s ability to find players from all sides of the pitch with incredible speed. Morten has, and Ugarte didn’t have, the ability to read the game, anticipate moves and be well positioned.
‘We have to adapt the team to the players we have and Morten will also adapt to our way of playing, to our high pressing.’
Sporting went onto win the Portuguese title last season with Hjulmand playing a key role in midfield with Viktor Gyokeres leading the line with an incredible haul of 43 goals in 50 appearances.
Having won Sporting’s first title in 19 years in his second campaign in charge, Amorim’s side evolved over the next three seasons, a process which culminated in that second title triumph last May.
While insisting he ‘loved’ players like Ugarte and Palhinha, Amorim seemed to suggest he was keen to move away from that type of midfielder, describing Hjulmand as a ‘more complete player.’
‘The big difference is that we have improved in our organised attack. We had the principles of the first year, when defensively we were very good, but we didn’t spend much time in organised attack,’ Amorim said. ‘We spent a lot of time creating offensive nuances and then we discovered what kind of players we need.
‘He continued: ‘We are always growing and I think we have to be clearer in defending in 4-4-2 and we have to change some characteristics that will help us in the future. It’s a normal evolution and then there’s also the merit of scouting. I love Palhinha and Ugarte, but I would say that Hjulmand is the most complete player in his position. I’m certainly no longer their favourite coach, but it’s a matter of everyone at the Academy understanding our playing philosophy.’
Ugarte arrived in Manchester very late in the summer transfer window and on the early evidence, Ten Hagvwas reluctant to use the 23-year-old. So far this season he has started just four games, seeing just two minutes of Premier League action since his disastrous afternoon against Tottenham in September where United were humiliated 3-0 at home.
There was plenty of promise in his performance against Fenerbahce in the Europa League and the arrival of Ugarte’s old coach in Manchester could trigger an upturn in his fortunes. But should Amorim get the job, he will have his own ideas on how to solve United’s midfield woes.
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