Manchester United are in talks to try and appoint Ruben Amorim, with the Sporting CP head coach now understood to be considering the opportunity. The Old Trafford hierarchy have put the 39-year-old top of their list, having not considered him during the summer. They are also willing to negotiate with the Portuguese club about a release fee.

United are seeking to impress on Amorim the opportunity that the job presents, in what would almost serve as a clean slate. With interest having grown since the start of the season, Amorim is known to have been reluctant to leave Sporting mid-season. The Portuguese has restored the club to glory, and already has them clear at the top of the table in what would be a third title, after 2020-21 and 2023-24.

Reports on Monday evening suggested Manchester United were moving quickly to replace Ten Hag and were willing to pay the £8.3m release clause to secure 39-year-old Amorim, whose Sporting Lisbon side sit top of the Portuguese table.

Amorim has won two Portuguese titles and two League Cups with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020.

In a unanimous decision by the club’s new hierarchy, the Independent understands, United decided neither results nor performances were good enough to give them reasons to persist with Ten Hag.

United had triggered a one-year contract extension for the Dutchman – though only after speaking to a host of other managers – and in September, new chief executive Omar Berrada said they were “fully backing him” while sporting director Dan Ashworth also gave Ten Hag his support.

It says much about Manchester United’s decision on Monday to sack Erik ten Hag, as well as the club’s long-term indecision, that even the Dutch coach’s great victory offered reasons to make a change. In the days before May’s FA Cup final, the Dutch coach was insistent on going “toe to toe” with Manchester City. It was only after hours of internal debate, led by Darren Fletcher, that Ten Hag relented. He had to be told to go with different tactics.

United still persisted with the manager, even though the decision to make a change had largely been settled on before that final. That stance was revealed with how they essentially interviewed Ten Hag for his own job over the weeks after, in a first big move by the new Ineos football leadership. It immediately undermined another season. United’s multi-headed hierarchy couldn’t ultimately settle on the right replacement, which remains a problem. That, allied with initial fan emotion, was the only reason that the decision was delayed until now.

United have won just three of their opening nine league games of the campaign, including Sunday’s late 2-1 defeat at West Ham, with Ten Hag failing to impress United’s new club ownership.

United are 14th in the Premier League after nine games, and lie 21st in the Europa League table have failed to win any of their opening three fixtures.

The defeat by West Ham United on the weekend was ironically one of the team’s better performances under Ten Hag this season, but it proved to be the final straw for the Ineos ownership as a string of missed chances resulted in a 2-1 loss.

Alejandro Garnacho wrote on Instagram and wished Erik ten Hag all the best.

He said: “Thank you for everything, boss. I will always be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity and the confidence to play for this club.

“It hasn’t gone as well as we wanted, but I will remember the good times we had together and I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you very much Erik.”

Ten Hag was sacked as United first-team manager on Monday following a disappointing start to the season.

They slipped into 14th in the Premier League table following their fourth league defeat of the season, by West Ham on Sunday.

Speculation had mounted over the Dutchman’s position in recent weeks and Ferdinand admitted he was unsurprised to see the boss go.

26% – Seven of Erik ten Hag’s 27 Premier League defeats came via a 90th minute winner, the highest percentage of defeats to 90th minute goals of any manager to lose 20+ games in Premier League history.

Manchester United have won just four times from their opening 13 games in all competitions in the 2024/25 with one of those wins coming against League One side Barnsley.

Just three wins from nine in the Premier League, United sit in 14th place – already 12 points behind leaders Manchester City and just seven points off the bottom three.

They have scored just eight times in the league, with only bottom club Southampton and Crystal Palace having scored fewer goals (six).

United remain winless in the Europa League, having taken the lead in all three fixtures before having to settle for a draw.