Jose Mourinho played a key role in Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United appointment | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho has advised Ruben Amorim to swap Sporting Lisbon for Manchester United.

INEOS put themselves in a tricky spot after failing to part ways with Erik ten Hag during the summer despite concerns over the Dutchman’s management and holding talks with several possible replacements.

Ten Hag’s sacking on Monday raised plenty of questions concerning his successor, as it is always considered tough to convince a top manager to jump ship mid-season.

However, within hours it emerged that United had already done plenty of work behind the scenes to replace the Dutchman, having convinced Amorim to leave Sporting despite their invincible start to the new Liga Portugal campaign.

Interestingly, it appears that their former manager Mourinho might have played a role in helping the Red Devils convince Amorim to move to Manchester.

According to The Sun, after being approached by United, Amorim turned to Mourinho for advice, and the legendary Portuguese coach “encouraged” the young tactician to accept the proposal despite his bitter exit from the Theatre of Dreams.

It is understood that the Fenerbahce boss has been a “long time mentor” to Amorim. The 39-year-old even had an internship at Mourinho’s High Performance Football coaching course back in 2018.

Mourinho faced his former side recently in the Europa League and before the clash the 61-year-old hinted at disappointment from his time in charge of the club.

Meanwhile, the United board, who have reached a full agreement with Sporting to appoint Amorim, would hope the incoming manager would fare better than his predecessors.

Amorim is considered Portugal’s most exciting tactician since Mourinho, having transformed Sporting’s playing style and culture following his move from Braga in 2020.

He guided the Lisbon-based side to their first league title in nearly two decades.

Amorim led them to another league title last season, and with nine wins in their opening nine Primeira Liga matches, Sporting are well on their way to another league triumph.