In a stunning turn of events, Manchester United have secured the services of Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim to take over the reins from Erik ten Hag starting November 11.
Despite a significant investment in the squad, amounting to nearly £200m during the summer transfer window, ten Hag faced mounting scrutiny at Old Trafford due to a dip in performance levels. However, he managed to navigate through turbulent times earlier in the year when Ineos concluded their club review, ultimately deciding to support the former Ajax manager after his FA Cup triumph against Manchester City at Wembley.
Following discussions about his future with Manchester United, ten Hag and the club reached an agreement to extend his contract by another year. Upon this extension, he expressed his commitment: "We have found complete unity in our vision with reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together."
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The Independent has reported that Manchester United passed over the opportunity to interview Sporting's coach in the summer, attributing the recent change in direction to the arrivals of Ashworth and Berrada in July. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos owner, gave his nod of approval, pointing out the high regard in which the coach is held by the new leadership team.
This echoes Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments to BBC Sport last month, where he emphasised the onus is on United's management team to make strategic decisions. "It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects," he stated, acknowledging the novelty of their tenure.
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"But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April - Omar, Dan - they only arrived in July."
Ratcliffe further clarified that the management's relatively brief time at the helm called for careful decision-making: "They've only been there... you can count it in weeks almost, and they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions."
He also conceded, "At the end of the day, it's not my call."
His remarks suggest that Amorim's absence from summer considerations was intentional and indicate that Berrada and Ashworth now hold the reins of major football decisions at Old Trafford.
