From Portugal: Hugo Viana could join Manchester City early amid United’s Ruben Amorim chase | OneFootball

Manchester City may benefit from Manchester United’s pursuit of Ruben Amorim, according to new claims from Portuguese media this week.

The 39-year-old is seemingly on the verge of becoming the next Old Trafford head coach, following Manchester United’s decision to sack Erik ten Hag on Monday morning after their latest defeat in Premier League action.

The pursuit of Amorim comes off the back of widespread suggestions in Portuguese press that Manchester City would be keen on making Ruben Amorim their successor to Pep Guardiola, should the Catalan coach leave at the end of the season.

However, such claims have been dismissed by sources close to the club, indicating that Amorim’s style of play is not appropriate for the foundations and methods installed by Guardiola and outgoing Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain.

But Ruben Amorim could yet have a direct impact on Manchester City and the future of the Etihad Stadium, as Portuguese media continues to report on the rapidly changing picture concerning the Sporting head coach and Manchester United.

According to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, City’s incoming Director of Football Hugo Viana had planned to take Sporting’s Ruben Amorim as Pep Guardiola’s replacement, with the 39-year-old ‘happy’ with the plan.

However, the report claims that Pep Guardiola has in fact decided to stay at Manchester City for a further year, and Amorim did not want to wait until then with Hugo Viana having told him he could make the move in 2026.

Nevertheless, Amorim’s exit could still have a direct impact on City, with the same report indicating that it could lead to Hugo Viana leaving his existing role as director of football at Sporting CP for the Etihad Stadium in January 2025, as opposed to next summer.

Manchester City and Txiki Begiristain worked closely to select Hugo Viana as their next sporting director after the Spanish transfer guru made the decision to bring an end to a 12-year stay at the Etihad Stadium next summer.

Begiristain is widely believed to have played a major role in Manchester City’s success overt he last few years, and was instrumental in also bringing Pep Guardiola to the club as its new head coach in the summer of 2016.

Having extended his stay by a further five years given his enjoyment at working on the Manchester City project and alongside Pep Guardiola, Begiristain will leave the club at 60-years-old and will be confident in Viana carrying the organisation forward into a new era.