Ruben Amorim could be the "antidote" that Manchester United need to bring back the glory days at Old Trafford, Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
The Red Devils confirmed the appointment of the 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon boss last Friday following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.
Amorim will take charge of two more games as Sporting boss before officially beginning his role at Man United on November 11 at the start of the international break.
The Portuguese, widely regarded as one of the brightest and most innovative coaches in Europe, was quickly identified by Man United as their number one target to succeed Ten Hag, and has penned a contract until the end of the 2026-27 season following positive talks with the club's hierarchy.
Amorim was briefly linked with a possible switch to Man United's rivals Man City and was tipped to follow in the footsteps of his right-hand man at Sporting, Hugo Viana, who will become the Citizens' new director of football at the end of this season.
Although Amorim has admitted that the prospect of following his close friend Viana to the Etihad Stadium had 'crossed his mind', he has insisted that he never had doubts about making the move to Man United.
Would Amorim have been a good fit with Viana at Man City?
McInerney has previously suggested that he was not entirely convinced that Amorim would be the right man to potentially succeed Man City boss Pep Guardiola, whose future remains uncertain as he is out of contract in the summer.
While a potential reunion between Amorim and Viana at Man City "could have been a good idea" considering the pair have a strong working relationship, McInerney feels that "City do not have the squad for the way Amorim currently plays" and several changes may have been required.
Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: "My feelings of Amorim about two weeks ago was that he would be a bit of a departure from what City usually do and I've gone back and forth in my head about whether that's actually a good thing or not.
"It could be that [City] might need a clean slate actually. With Txiki Begiristain leaving and Hugo Viana coming in, it could have been a good idea to get [Viana's] preferred manager in. [Amorion is] a guy that he trusts, a guy that he knows inside out, there's a lot to be said for working partnerships in football.
"There's a reason a lot of people follow each other around and Txiki and Guardiola work really well with [Ferran] Soriano (City's CEO) above them, so I understood the logic behind that. I still feel [Amorim] would have been a bit of a departure.
"City do not have the squad for the way Amorim currently plays. They play three at the back and they're very aggressive. They're much more of a physical side than City, so it would have taken a little bit of a change."
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Have Man United appointed 'the next special one'?
Having gleefully watched several managers at Man United fail since the legendary reign of Sir Alex Ferguson came to an end, McInerney is unsure as to whether Amorim will finally establish himself as the right man to steer the Red Devils in the right direction.
McInerney has, however, suggested that Amorim is 'the next special one' and could be the 'antidote' Man United need, as long as he copes with the seismic expectations that have weighed down many of his predecessors at Old Trafford.
"We're going to have to see how he gets on (at Man United) because a lot of people felt very similar about Ten Hag when he joined, that he was going to be this sort of revolutionary coach with a lot of ideas, a lot of energy, a young coach who plays nice football, well-organised, well-drilled, but that's just not worked at all at United," said McInerney.
"That's not to say Amorim won't, but we just don't really know, until he's there, whether he will fit at the club. So much of success in football is just how you fit somewhere. It's not necessarily your ideas or the players, it's just the feeling and whether you can work with the people around you.
"He's young, he still has a lot to prove and I think you have to have an exceptional amount of charisma and belief in your ideas to be that young and manage a club of the size of Man United - and this is coming from a City fan, but it's true.
"The reason why a lot of young managers tend to struggle a little bit is controlling the expectations. You're not just managing the players, you're managing the board of directors and the looming presence of all these senior officials over you, and then the weight of expectation that comes from millions of fans around the world.
"You can see why it could get so toxic and why, if there are any signs early on of his style not working - which is different to what United are used to - then it could be difficult and it could just go the same way as [it has done for United's previous managers]."
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Amorim could be Man United's 'antidote'
"Having said that, he could also be the antidote to United right now," McInerney added. "They will work harder, they'll be more organised, more structured - in theory anyway - and it could be that he got where he is right now because he is that guy. He is the next special one. Time will tell. I don't think anyone truly knows."
McInerney has also suggested that Amorim would currently have more success as Man City manager than Man United boss, because of how poorly the Red Devils have ben run since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team.
"I feel like Amorim's chances of success would usually be a lot better at City than they would be at United, because City is just a better run club, whereas United are very much a project right now. There's no proof of concept yet," said McInerney.
"I would argue they've still been pretty poorly run, even with the new guys in (Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co). They kept on Ten Hag even though they didn't want him in the first place. It's very obvious to me that it was an emotional decision, not a logical one.
"They've not shown signs of recovery yet as a club, even with the new owners, so I don't think they can get too carried away yet, but we'll see. Time will tell. [Amorim] could be brilliant, he could fail."
Amorim will take charge of his first game as head coach of Man United - who currently sit 13th in the Premier League table - when they travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town on November 24.
In the meantime, interim boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy will oversee two more games before the international break, with a Europa League clash with PAOK on Thursday followed by another home fixture with Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Oliver Thomas
