MANCHESTER - Manchester United are reportedly in talks with Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim to become their next manager after sacking Erik ten Hag on Monday following a disastrous start to the season.
Time finally ran out for Dutchman Ten Hag with United sitting a lowly 14th in the Premier League table after they suffered a fourth defeat in nine league games at West Ham on Sunday.
Despite substantial dealings in the transfer market before this season, one of the world's wealthiest clubs have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.
Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, a member of Ten Hag's coaching staff, was named interim boss.
According to multiple British media reports, United want to turn to Amorim, the 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon manager who is considered one of Europe's leading young coaches.
Sky Sports reported United had held discussions with Amorim and are prepared to pay his release clause.
Amorim was linked with the manager's role at Liverpool following the departure of Jurgen Klopp this year, but Dutch coach Arne Slot headed to Anfield instead.
The position of Ten Hag, 54, had been repeatedly called into question after United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe retained him following an internal review at the end of last season when the club finished eighth in the league but won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
Ten Hag was even rewarded with a one-year contract extension to June 2026.
But United have shown little improvement this season and the 2-1 loss at West Ham was the final straw.
A club statement said: "Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men's first-team manager."
- Defended his record -
United said Van Nistelrooy would take over on a temporary basis.
Former Ajax coach Ten Hag, who joined United in May 2022, had fiercely defended his record in recent weeks after winning two trophies in his two full seasons in charge.
United ended a six-year wait for silverware by beating Newcastle in the 2023 League Cup final.
The Red Devils also reached the FA Cup final and finished third in the Premier League in an encouraging debut season for Ten Hag.
However, the wheels came off in his second season as injuries to key players, the lack of a meaningful impact from expensive signings like Brazilian forward Antony and Ten Hag's failure to implement a clear playing style led to a number of embarrassing results.
United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage, while Bournemouth, Brighton and Fulham were among the other teams to win at Old Trafford in the 2023/2024 campaign.
The implementation of a new sporting structure at United, spearheaded by Ratcliffe, saw widespread change over recent months off the field.
But Ten Hag's surprise victory over Pep Guardiola's City in the FA Cup final led to him receiving a stay of execution.
He was further backed in the transfer market with the signings of Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, taking the total spent in his reign to over £600 million ($778 million), nearly half of which went on former Ajax players.
Yet early hope this season evaporated as Liverpool and Tottenham coasted to 3-0 wins at Old Trafford in September.
- 'Unacceptable' -
Former United captain Gary Neville said Ten Hag had paid the price for an "unacceptable" league position.
"The big shock for me is how bad they've been with the new signings that have come in," Neville told Sky Sports.
He added: "The fact that they are 14th is unacceptable. You can't be in 14th after nine or 10 games with the level of spend that's occurred without being under significant pressure -- and that's what's happened."
Ex-England striker Alan Shearer said Ten Hag had been "a dead man walking" as soon as it was revealed United had talked to other potential managers in the summer.
For all Ten Hag's faults, he oversaw just a small period of United's more general decline since legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Since the Scot's departure, five permanent managers have now been dismissed without United even challenging for the Premier League title -- a trophy they won 13 times under Ferguson.
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By Kieran Canning
AFP