Ruben Amorim 'in contact' with Jose Mourinho - but Man Utd plan at risk of failing

Ruben Amorim remains a huge admirer of Jose Mourinho and has been in contact with the Special One to seek his advice about potentially taking charge at Manchester United

Ruben Amorim immediately turned to Jose Mourinho when Manchester United came calling - with the Special One advising him to take the job.

The ex-Red Devils boss remains a hugely influential figure for the Sporting Lisbon manager, who looks set to leave his post and succeed Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. The Manchester hierarchy have moved quick to secure his services after sacking the Dutchman on Monday.

Amorim has excelled as a manager despite only being in the dugout for a matter of years. Not yet 40, he has already won two league titles with Sporting , which came after he had an internship at Mourinho's High Performance Football Coaching course back in 2018.

The pair remain in contact and The Sun reports that Amorim spoke to the Fenerbahce boss about the prospect of managing the Premier League giants - with Mourinho backing him to make the leap.

The Special One previously said on the Sporting boss: “I think he has the conditions to be able to coach in any league and he has the conditions to be able to coach in any club.”

Leading figures in Manchester have been in talks with those at Sporting for several days as they look to secure Amorim's exit. Originally they had wanted to accelerate the process so that their new manager could be in charge this Sunday for the visit of Chelsea.

That looks increasingly unlikely and Amorim himself wants to remain at the Lisbon club until next Tuesday - when he will get the chance to face Manchester City and Pep Guardiola in the Champions League.

United too are having to settle on a financial package that means Amorim can leave Sporting before his notice period states. The manager also wants to bring some of his staff with him, but that too is an issue for the Portuguese club. They want to promote Amorim's assistant Carlos Fernandez once he leaves.

For now Ruud van Nistelrooy is the man at the helm in Manchester. The club's former striker, who was Ten Hag's assistant, has stepped up to the top job for now and enjoyed a stellar opening night. The Red Devils put their difficulties behind them to beat Leicester 5-2 in the Carabao Cup.

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