Gyokeres? Diomande? Five players Ruben Amorim could bring from Sporting to Man Utd
Sporting manager Ruben Amorim now looks set to be appointed as Manchester United’s successor to Erik ten Hag, after the English side made it clear they would pay the €10m release clause required for his services.
The 39-year-old will arrive at Old Trafford with an impressive track record in Portugal, where he will leave Sporting top of Liga Portugal, with nine wins from nine to start the season.
So, with Amorim’s appointment seemingly a formality, we’ve taken a look at five players who could follow their soon-to-be former coach to Manchester.
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The player that United fans will surely be crying out for following Amorim’s arrival is Sporting hitman Viktor Gyokeres, whose goal record since joining the Portuguese side in 2023 speaks for itself.
In 42 league appearances since signing, Gyokeres has 41 goals and 11 assists, with a further seven goals and three assists in European competition. The red-hot Sweden international would provide the clinical touch in front of goal that has so glaringly been lacking so far this campaign.
Morten Hjlumand - Defensive midfielder
Ruben Amorim will doubtless be pleased to link up once again with Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte at United, after getting the most from the 23-year-old during two seasons in Lisbon. However, should the Red Devils look to replace the likes of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in what is an ageing midfield department, they could look to Portugal for Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand.
Hjulmand impressed in his debut season in Liga Portugal last term, and backed up those displays with a creditable group campaign with Denmark at Euro 2024, scoring famously against England.
Ousmane Diomande – Centre-back
Manchester United have three top-quality centre-back options to ensure Ruben Amorim is able to implement his favoured three-man backline at Old Trafford, once Leny Yoro returns to fitness that is. A centre-back trio of Yoro-De Ligt-Martinez provides the ideal balance at the back but they lack quality options in reserve. Harry Maguire is unlikely to be at United for much longer, Victor Lindelof has long been linked with an exit, and, at 36, Jonny Evans won’t be around forever.
Sporting in Liga Portugal this season:
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 29, 2024
◉ Most goals (30)
◉ Fewest goals conceded (2)
◉ Most xG (24.43)
◉ Fewest xG conceded (3.73)
◉ Most big chances created (31)
◉ Most clean sheets (7)
◉ Highest rated team (7.14)
◉ 9 matches
◉ 9 wins
Dominant. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/FjJnxEyVFt
United have previously been linked with a move for Goncalo Inacio, but with the left centre-back role taken by Martinez; a move for Ousmane Diomande could prove a smarter investment. Diomande has his Premier League admirers having proved himself one of the finest ball-playing centre-backs in Liga Portugal. Indeed, the Ivorian has returned the third best pass success rate (94.6%) in Portugal’s top tier, while a 64.7% aerial success is modest to say the least. Experienced at the heart of Amorim’s three-man backline, the 20-year-old could prove a fine capture.
Geovany Quenda - Right wing-back
17-year-old winger Geovany Quenda has been a revelation under Amorim at Sporting this season, starting seven of nine league matches and two of three Champions League clashes, while also earning a first call-up to the senior Portugal national team.
Quenda has been utilised in a right wing-back role, but given the licence to drive forward, noted in his 1.7 shots, 1.8 key passes and 1.3 successful dribbles per game. United are well-stocked when it comes to young talents, but Quenda will certainly be on the shortlists of Europe’s elite clubs before too long, so why not link up with the coach who helped him break through?
Should Amorim choose to employ his trusted 3-4-2-1 system at Old Trafford, then the Sporting boss will have to wisely decide on the two players that operate in behind the striker. In Lisbon, that duo is often Trincao and Pote, who recorded 38 goal involvements between them in the league last season. Both players have continued in a similar vein of form this time around, with Pote, particularly, impressing once more.
The one-time Wolves attacker has four goals and three assists to his name in just six league appearances this term, and ranks as Sporting’s second highest rated player behind the insurmountable Viktor Gyokeres.
With Bruno Fernandes struggling to replicate the impressive output of previous campaigns so far in 2024/24, United could look to the likes of Pote to feed Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee… or Gyokeres of course.
