Man Utd news LIVE: Amorim to be announced as new manager on complex timeline

Ruben Amorim said the “soap opera” about his future is ending as he suggested his move to Manchester United will be announced on Friday evening.

United will activate the 39-year-old’s £8.3m release clause with Sporting Lisbon but they are negotiating with the Portuguese champions to ensure Amorim does not have to serve a 30-day notice period, while they also want to agree terms to bring his backroom staff to Old Trafford.

Sporting hope to keep Amorim until the November international break – which would mean he would face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday – and they host Estrela on Friday night, with Amorim believing he will be able to provide more of an update then.

What did Ruben Amorim say about Manchester United?

“It’s a negotiation between two clubs. It’s never easy, even with the [release] clauses. They have to talk. We will have clarification after the game, it will be very clear. So it’s one more day and after the game tomorrow, we will have a decision made. We’ll leave that until the end of the game [when] I’ll talk about all these issues. Right now I want the team to focus and me too.

“I promise I’ll talk about it at the end of the game and everything will be clearer. By talking now, it’s destabilising the squad further. Right now, the focus is on Estrela da Amadora. As for doing things differently, I wouldn’t. I didn’t control any of the situation.”

Ruud van Nistelrooy will speak to the media at 4:30pm this afternoon, after Ruben Amorim said the “soap opera” around his Manchester United appointment is close to coming to an end and will be clarified tomorrow night.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of United’s Carabao Cup win over Leicester City on Wednesday night and is set to remain in charge for Sunday’s match against Chelsea – with reports suggesting that Amorim may not start until the November international break.

“Without a doubt, without a doubt,” Amorim admits when asked if his players would be mad with him for leaving. “But I don’t interfere in the players’ lives. Now I talk to the players, because I’m Sporting coach. I want to do well for the group.

“I talked to the board about how we are going to manage the squad. But without a doubt my players will be, if I leave, they will be disappointed in me and sad with me. But it’s part of life.

“That happened with me already in Braga. When I came from Braga, from Braga’s stability to here, that happened a little.

“And they were a little disappointed, because they really believed that we were building something special. But then things happen that change people’s lives. And so, it’s a difficult situation.

“I can’t give you more than that. I understand that the players are even disappointed, sad. But I have to live with it. And the important thing is that we reach the end and know how to explain everything.

“Whether people understand it or not, the important thing is to come forward and explain it. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United are hiring the “best coach in Portugal”.

That’s according to the Manchester Evening News, which recalls how Amorim visited United’s Carrington training complex when Mourinho was manager in April 2018 for an internship. Amorim had started a postgraduate degree at the University of Lisbon and Mourinho was a coordinator and lecturer on its high performance coaching course.

Amorim, Mourinho remembers, was a “good kid” who sticks to his preferred style of play whatever the opposition, and who is “always intense”.

Ruben Amorim will be announced as Manchester United’s new manager either today or tomorrow, with talks between United’s hierarchy and Sporting CP completed.

Sky Sports reported this morning that the announcement would be made today, though it has since rowed back on that timeline. Amorim himself said that he would discuss the issue in public for the first time after tomorrow’s game against Estrela.

Either way, there is not long to wait until the Portuguese is confirmed as the man to succeed Erik ten Hag.

Ruud van Nistelrooy always promised goals for Manchester United. There were 36 in his first season as a player, 44 in his second. There were seven in his first game as their interim manager, five of them for United. The third-lowest scorers in the Premier League, United discovered a prolific streak under him. If it is to prove his lone evening in charge of United, what a night for him.

It was a nostalgia trip when Van Nistelrooy headed down the tunnel at half-time to be serenaded by the Stretford End. The choruses of his name, the guttural growls of “Ruud”, may have transported them back to 2003, to a happier time, and if United can forever seek solace in their past, when actually needing to escape it, this was an enjoyable interlude before Ruben Amorim’s tenure begins, assuming it does and depending on when it actually starts.

“Yes it is [sad], we felt it.” he said, “The day after was a really sad day for us, for everybody. He was a man that breathes football 100%. This is what he loves the most but it’s part of football.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“We wish him all the best and thank him for everything he did for us. Personally, he helped a lot. He helped him to break through at this club, he gave me all the confidence that I needed to show that I deserved to play for this club and overall we win two trophies together. We keep good memories.”

Dalot was also asked his thoughts on United’s potential new manager Ruben Amorim and he added: “Obviously he’s a good manager. We don’t know if he’s coming or not. We see the rumours like everybody sees it but we just focus on what we have here, doing on job then what the future brings we will be ready.”

The Sporting CP boss said: “I know my players and I’m honest with you when I say that they weren’t normal. I realised they were nervous and anxious about the news, with a series of tough games coming up.

“They know me so well. I’ve proved that I’ll defend them until the last minute. But there are things I can’t control. There are things we can’t control. The clubs are negotiating, it’s not the coach’s decision.”

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s win over Leicester City, Manchester United’s interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy told Sky Sports: “It’s been a hectic day, especially yesterday when the players came in after Erik had gone.

“We had to stabilise and go out for training, get back to work and bring them in today for a team talk about our opponents and especially ourselves.

“What it’s about to play at Old Trafford in front of these wonderful fans, who always support us. We want to give them a great night of football with possession and lots of attacks.

“That is what Manchester United is about, I tried to share that with the players and get them ready for game.”

It seems his team talk worked as United scored five past the Foxes with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes both scoring twice as they helped their side into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Will Van Nistelrooy have similar words of wisdom ahead of the weekend’s clash with Chelsea?