New Manchester United manager demands £147 million for star signings

Manchester United and Sporting Clube de Portugal have all but confirmed that Ruben Amorim will be the next Manchester United manager. Issues with his club contract and Sporting’s listing on the Portuguese stock market have delayed the announcement, but the deal is done.

Now that it’s been confirmed that Amorim has confirmed that he will take over at Old Trafford, multiple outlets have started reporting on the players that Amorim will want to bring with him to Man Utd.

£147m spending spree incoming?

TEAMTalk in England have reported that Amorim has identified three stars from his Sporting CP squad that he intends to sign once he joins Manchester United.

Goncalo Inacio is Amorim’s highest priority. The Red Devils are thin at centre back and will need to sign at least one more to have enough to play Amorim’s three-at-the-back formation.

Inacio, 23, is considered as one of the best young centre backs in Europe and Amorim intends to build around him. However, Sporting do not want to let him go and will demand that Man Utd pay his full £51m (A$100m) release clause.

Amorim also reportedly wants wingers Marcus Edwards and Pedro Goncalves. Edwards, 25, is a former Tottenham academy graduate. Goncalves, 26, has previous experience playing in England with Wolves.

Sporting could demand close to £100m (A$196m) combined for these two players, meaning Man Utd will have to spend close to £150m (A$294m) to sign Inacio, Edwards, and Goncalves.

Man Utd fans worry

As much as fans usually say that their clubs should back their managers in the transfer window, many Man Utd fans worry about giving Amorim free reign to sign players from his old club.

After all, Erik ten Hag was allowed to spend £600 million (A$1.18 billion) on mostly ex-Ajax players.

After all that spending, Man Utd are in 14th place and virtually no chances of qualifying for the Champions League this season, according to the betting sites.

Looking forward

Manchester United take on Chelsea in EPL Matchweek 10 this weekend. Most soccer betting sites have the Red Devils as dead even with Chelsea to win this match.

Whatever happens, Ruben Amorim will not be at the match. The Sporting boss is set to stay at his current club until Man Utd buy him and his staff out of their contracts.

Sporting’s status as a publicly traded company in Portugal also complicates things, as they are required to disclose all deals to their shareholders.

Conclusion

Amorim could be announced as soon as the end of this week, but he may not manage his first game until the end of next month. For Man Utd fans’ sakes, let’s hope Amorim’s tenure is less chaotic than his transfer saga.