Man Utd hold Ruben Amorim talks to replace sacked Erik ten Hag

Manchester United have held talks to hire Ruben Amorim as their new head coach following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
The Portuguese is not the only candidate under consideration but has emerged as the leading option. He has a €10 million (£8.3 million) release clause in his contract with Lisbon club, Sporting.
Amorim, who speaks perfect English, is one of Europe’s most sought-after young managers and has long been on United’s radar. Talks have been held in recent weeks with more detailed negotiations believed to now be underway.
Amorim also held talks last season to succeed David Moyes at West Ham United, later calling that meeting a “mistake”, but is understood to harbour higher ambitions. He was also discussed by Liverpool before they decided upon Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp’s successor.
United are also considering the former Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic who is out-of-work having left the German club in the summer despite leading them to the Champions League final. He too speaks perfect English.
At present though the favourite to take over is Amorim and despite concerns over United’s finances – and their need to remain compliant with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules – the clause of the 39-year-old is not believed to be prohibitive.
Amorim 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. Sporting are in the Champions League with forthcoming ties against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Amorim played a straight bat when asked about United’s interest at a news conference on Monday. “I was already expecting this question and obviously I’m not going to talk about the future, because otherwise I’ll always have to comment,” he said. “I’m very proud to be Sporting coach, that’s all.”
However it is understood he would be interested in taking over at United.
More to follow…
xG Difference while Erik ten Hag was manager of Manchester United:◎ Man City: +116.54(xG)◎ Arsenal: +98.36(xG)◎ Liverpool: +88.06(xG)◎ Tottenham: +25.84(xG)◎ Chelsea: +24.10(xG)◎ Man Utd: -3.46(xG)
In his Telegraph Sport column, Jamie Carragher questions the sustainability of the football played by United under Ten Hag:
“He never made any imprint except when playing counter-attacking football, his best moments coming when taking on the role of the underdog against Manchester City and Liverpool when enjoying cup victories.
There is nothing wrong with playing that way occasionally, but Manchester United expect to be a more dominant side. At their worst, they were neither strong in defence nor attack. In their Premier League history, United have conceded a 90th minute winner nine times. Seven of those were in Ten Hag’s 85 fixtures in charge – a consequence of their lack of solidity – while his overall goal difference was just +11.
The appointments of rival clubs, some spending as big and others a fraction of United’s budget, undermined Ten Hag’s arguments that the team was evolving.
Unai Emery had an immediate impact at Aston Villa, his work on the training pitch obvious within weeks. The same is true of Enzo Maresca at Chelsea and Arne Slot at Liverpool. Ange Postecoglou is having mixed results at Tottenham Hotspur, but no one is in any doubt as to what he is trying to achieve.
Whoever Ten Hag’s replacement is, they must get to work creating a consistent style with players they may not consider right for the job.”
Read Jamie’s full piece here.
Just hours after being appointed United’s interim manager, Van Nistelrooy deleted an 11-year-old image which showed the former striker posing dressed as a king with black makeup. 
It had been reshared thousands of times on X after he was announced as Ten Hag’s temporary replacement.
After Telegraph Sport inquired with United whether he was planning to remove the post, the image had disappeared from the social media site by 4pm.
Read the full story from Tom Morgan here.
“Ultimately United are sat in 14th position. They haven’t won in Europe for about a year now which – whatever team you support – when you look at that, that’s a million miles off from where they should be or even want to be,” Shearer said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“When they’ve given him a new contract, when they’ve spent another 200 million or so, then that is not acceptable.
“Whether you think it’s harsh or whether you agree, we all know the rules of football. If you don’t get the results then ultimately you lose your job.”
He also said that Ten Hag had been a “dead man walking” since it emerged that United sounded out other managers in the summer.
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has a busy couple of weeks ahead – with United playing in three different competitions over the next 10 days. 
First up, United host Leicester in an EFL Cup round of 16 clash on Wednesday evening. Then, on Sunday, they host Chelsea in the league – with the visitors currently on fine form and six points and nine places ahead of them in the table, it is likely to be a tough battle.
Their next match is a Europa League clash as they host PAOK next Thursday evening. All three fixtures are home ties – in fact, they don’t play away again until November 24, when they travel to Ipswich. 
Ruben Anorim? Graham Potter? Thomas Frank? Who should replace Ten Hag as Manchester United manager?
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“Erik ten Hag did well to last as long as he did at Manchester United. He was a dead man walking from the moment his bosses approached other managers last summer. When he reflects upon his Old Trafford demise, he can only blame himself,” Jamie Carragher has written in a column for Telegraph Sport.
“Some are suggesting Manchester United has become an impossible job since Sir Alex Ferguson left, with so many well respected managers struggling and being sacked. Nonsense.
“For the majority of Ten Hag’s reign, no Premier League manager had so much backing, so much control over transfers and so much patience to prove he was the right man. Most coaches in world football could only dream of such support. Ultimately, he failed to make the most of one of the most attractive posts in football.
“As a person, there is always sympathy when a manager loses his job. As a professional, it is hard to see why there should be too much for Ten Hag.”
Click here to read Jamie’s full piece.
A mysterious message from Roy Keane on Instagram: “In good teams, coaches hold players accountable. In great teams, players hold players accountable.”
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“It looks like they’re talking to Xavi, from Barcelona. He was one of my favourite players, I think he’s the greatest Spanish player of all time.
“He’s managed Barcelona, he was seen as the next Pep Guardiola, even as a player they thought he’d be a top manager. He lost his job but still won La Liga against a Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid.
“Yes he’s out of work at the moment, which makes it easier. There’s a link between someone on the board and Xavi, there’s been some reports there’s been talks in the last few days.
“I’m not sure what Manchester United can do right now, I don’t think the fans would buy Gareth Southgate, but I don’t think Xavi would be a bad appointment.
“He’s got huge status as a player, that doesn’t make you a great manager but it does give you instant respect on the training pitch.
“There’s no-one in that dressing room who has won more than him, and he has been a manager of a huge football club and had success. He’s won a league and a cup competition, up against Carlo Ancelotti. He’s not got a bad CV so I don’t think that would be a bad appointment.”
Attention will now turn to who should replace Ten Hag and become the ninth manager in the post-Alex Ferguson era, tasked with propelling the club back up to its former heights. 
The shortlist could include the likes of Edin Terzic who has been out of a job since leaving Dortmund this summer and Xavi, the Barcelona great who was very recently linked with a move to Old Trafford. 
Telegraph Sport assesses the potential runners and riders here.
In a message on his Instagram story, the United forward said: “Thanks for everything boss. Wish you all the best in the future.”
He is the second United player to comment publicly on Ten Hag’s sacking after Bruno Fernandes also posted a thank you message on his Instagram earlier this afternoon.
108 – Only Ipswich Town (47 minutes and 9 seconds) have been in the lead for less time in the Premier League this season than Manchester United (108 minutes and 5 seconds). Difficulties.
The Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been previously linked with the head coach role at United and, speaking in a press conference this afternoon, he addressed whether or not he would be interested now the job is available.
On Ten Hag’s sacking, he said: 
“Of course, I feel for Erik. He is a great coach and has a great career. He did a good job at Man United, two trophies in two years.
“It’s a non-stop developing world and that is more than acceptable. At these big clubs, there are massive expectations but there has to be a reality check… You feel for guys who lose their jobs and I’m sure Erik gave everything.”
On whether he fancies the job, he said:
“I’ve got a big responsibility to Brentford Football Club, the fans, the leadership, players and staff. One focus, to beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.
“I’m very happy here, one of the best clubs in the world. What happens in the future who knows, but I am very happy here.”
When pushed on whether some jobs are too difficult to turn down, he replied:
“Right now I’m just here and enjoying life here. I always try to be as transparent as possible, I am very happy here and I can see myself being here for a long, long time in the future. I just want to focus on Sheffield Wednesday, get on with the game, try to win.”
🤌🏼
United signed 21 players during Ten Hag’s tenure. From Antony and Mason Mount, to Andre Onana and Jonny Evans – recruitment has been inconsistent to say the least.
James Ducker, Telegraph Sport’s Northern Football Correspondent, analyses and rates each and every one of those signings here.
I go back to Liverpool appointing Jurgen Klopp and keeping Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers was in a very similar situation to Erik ten Hag where the Liverpool board weren’t sure whether to keep him or move him on. They decided to keep him and then changed to Klopp in the October international break. Maybe there was some method in the madness in keeping the manager. One of the reasons I thought they may have kept Ten Hag is because there’s a manager out there who’s having a bit of a break over the summer and recharge their batteries. I actually thought that might be Thomas Tuchel, but along came England and take him. I said after the Liverpool game that there was no way Ten Hag was going to last further than the November international break. They should have made this decision in the summer and saved themselves a lot of money.
It shows how special a manager Sir Alex Ferguson was. I think most people felt when he moved on, Manchester United are the biggest club in the country and spend big money so they’d keep competing for the biggest honours but it hasn’t happened.
When you have a strong structure at the club, you say no to the manager. With Manchester United, too often it was a yes. Whether that’s signing players, buying players like Casemiro. You cannot spend £70 million on a player who is over 30 and Real Madrid are happy to get rid of. 
Managers have been able to bring in exactly who they want, going for players they know, going all the way back to Louis van Gaal buying Dutch players. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos need to start saying no.
They travel to Old Trafford on Sunday and might be wary of a possible interim manager bounce. Much like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Van Nistelrooy will be hugely popular regardless of his aptitude as a coach. Any team yet to play United this season will feel they have missed out.
1,739 – Manchester United faced 1,739 shots in their 128 games under Erik ten Hag. Since 2022-23, Manchester City have faced 717 fewer shots than United despite playing six more games in that time. Unsustainable. pic.twitter.com/OEe6RDMyaO
I look at Ineos and I think about the way things panned out at the end of the season. Did they back themselves into a corner, with the way that they handled stuff in the summer?
They’ll look back and go ‘we could have handled it better’. I think having a manager in place and actively looking for new managers and it becoming public knowledge, isn’t a great way to do it.
It isn’t a great way to advertise for the job. It’s hard for the guy coming in, to come in under that cloud.
It’s also even harder for the guy whose in the hot seat, still the manager and then they keep him as the manager and he has to face questions constantly about his standing within the organisation.
It’s not easy to navigate through a situation that is so public, a club the size of Manchester United but if they’re honest, Ineos – they could have done that in a better way.
26% – Seven of Erik ten Hag’s 27 Premier League defeats came via a 90th minute winner, the highest percentage of defeats to 90th minute goals of any manager to lose 20+ games in Premier League history. Fergietime. pic.twitter.com/mfMch5XWUG
‘That is exactly how I want to see my team playing, especially in the first half’Erik ten Hag’s last press conference as Man Utd manager#TelegraphFootball | #MUFC pic.twitter.com/jordPOdz4r
The Ten Hag sacking is believed to be costing United in the region of £13.5 million in compensation.
It would have been higher, but the Dutchman was forced to take a reduction on his £9 million-year salary this season after failing to qualify for the Champions League.
A one-year extension over the summer, however, ensures he still secures a handsome pay out at Old Trafford to cover 20 remaining months on a contract expiring in June 2026. 
Senior sources close to talks declined to comment on a precise figure when estimates were put to them by Telegraph Sport. 
Jose Mourinho’s £20 million compensation deal in 2018 remains the most expensive sacking in the club’s history.
The sacking comes just four months after the club announced it would be making 250 job losses as part of efforts to make the club more sustainable.
I thought it was coming. At the Spurs game, I thought I’d seen all this before and knew how it would end. That was a game that shocked everybody, that was the game where everyone felt the season might start to kick on and recover from the difficult start. Sadly, it got worse after that.The challenges presented by the results, the challenges of the levels of performance have meant that the owners have been given a decision to make. I’m not sure anyone will be truly shocked this morning.There will be those that will say it should have happened at the end of last season. However, there were many of us United fans who wanted to keep Erik ten Hag on the basis that there was no standout replacement at the time. Give the chance to success with another transfer window and new structure underneath him along with some good signings.
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The Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United15-game xG trendlines from August 2022 – October 2024 pic.twitter.com/N0xfU9tlcH
In this piece, Jim White takes a good long look at United’s wilderness years since 2013 and ranks their eight permanent or interim managers. Where does Ten Hag stand?
Man Like Ruud 🔥
The fact they’re in 14th is just unacceptable. You can’t be 14th after nine games given the level of spend that has occurred without coming under significant pressure.
I hoped it would end differently and I’m sure most Manchester United fans did, that the faith shown in the manager would be rewarded.
I suspect that Tottenham game a few weeks ago would have prompted them to start looking for a new manager.
You’re half hoping that the manager will turn it around and a miracle happens, and you win a few games. I think they thought after the next big defeat we have to act, and that came yesterday.
I think the lack of identity in style has been a mystery for the last two or three seasons. Let’s say the recruitment is poor – and it has been awful at times – but I do think there’s a group of players there. Yesterday, I was surprised to see Casemiro and Eriksen in midfield with Manuel Ugarte on the bench. If I was an owner, I’d think hang on a minute.
It’s been a struggle to watch United play.
United’s new Ineos led executive had been keen to give Ten Hag a chance to work within a new sporting structure and backed the manager heavily in the transfer market with a £200 million outlay taking spending under the manager to more than £600 million during his two and a half years in charge.
Yet sources indicated that neither results nor performances across last season and into this one had been good enough to justify continuing with Ten Hag and that there were “no excuses” for the current performance level.
It is understood that the decision was an unanimous one and that, while they wanted to have continuity at a time of significant change for the club, they concluded that they were not seeing the momentum and progress to believe they were on the “right path” under Ten Hag.
A United source said: “We have put everything we can in place to develop and we are not seeing an improvement.”
United have taken just 40 points from 27 matches in the Premier League this year and the club’s hierarchy were concerned about again missing out on Champions League football this season if Ten Hag remained at the helm.
There was also alarm at the club that United have failed to win any of their opening three Europa League games this season from winning positions.
United are averaging just 1.2 points per game this season – far less than last season’s tally of 1.58 points per game which was already not close to being enough to get the club into the top four.
United held talks with half a dozen managers towards the end of last season including Thomas Tuchel – who is now the new England manager – Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank, Mauricio Pochettino, Kieran McKenna and Marco Silva.
They are thought to have held talks with representatives of the former Barcelona coach Xavi in recent weeks while Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim and former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic also have their admirers at the club.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank – whom United interviewed at the end of last season – could also come back into consideration.
Under Ten Hag, United have bought extensively from the Dutch league, including a number of players who worked under him at Ajax. Given his position always looked precarious, there will be questions about the decision to back Ten Hag to the tune of around £180 million last summer. Lenny Yoro looks very promising, but the outlay on Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte will attract scrutiny.
United were loosely grouped in the Premier League title race in February 2023 and they won silverware in that month’s Carabao Cup final. Ten Hag’s in-game changes impressed, as did his handling of the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. Casemiro was hailed as one of the signings of the season. Shortly after, they lost 7-0 at Anfield and things were never quite the same again.
Having decided to stick with Ten Hag at the end of last season, Ineos’ sporting leadership will now begin the process of appointing their first permanent United manager. Thomas Tuchel is off the table after taking the England job. Chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox will be leading the search.
Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.
Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.
Manchester United have sacked Erik ten Hag with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking interim charge of the team.
The decision follows United’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday which left them languishing 14th in the Premier League table.
Ten Hag won a domestic cup in each of his two full seasons in charge of United. They beat Newcastle United to win the Carabao Cup in 2023 before producing arguably their best performance of the Ten Hag era against champions Man City in last season’s FA Cup final.
However, the Dutchman failed to re-establish United as a competitive force at the top end of the Premier League, finishing eighth last season and crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage.
So far this season, United have won just three of nine league games, including damaging 3-0 losses against Liverpool and Tottenham at Old Trafford.
More follows..