Manchester United are rumoured to be eyeing up a raid of Portugal-based talent in the coming transfer windows after confirming the appointment of Ruben Amorim.
In a strategy that – if executed – the club and its fans alike will hope pans out better than Erik Ten Hag’s affinity for his own former players proved to, United could look to convince several Sporting Lisbon players to follow Amorim across the Channel as early as next year.
The Portuguese head coach will reportedly enjoy less direct say in recruitment than his predecessors, i understands.
But with the 39-year-old having enjoyed success by developing young players that fit his energetic, high-pressing 3-4-3 formation and style, it’s possible he could look to convince the Old Trafford hierarchy that a few changes will need to be made, despite the fact that Ten Hag’s departure and the compensation paid to Sporting for Amorim will further deplete the funds available for new arrivals.
Here are some of the key transfer targets Amorim might look to bring in after taking the reins at Old Trafford.
Viktor Gyokeres
At United, Amorim will reunite with former Sporting charge Manuel Ugarte, who he spent two years with in Portugal before the Uruguayan joined PSG and then headed to Manchester.
But if he wants a player with whom he has shared his most recent successes, Amorim will have to battle teams including Arsenal for the signature of prolific goal scorer Viktor Gyokeres.
The 26-year-old Swede, formerly of Brighton and Coventry City, signed for Sporting in a five-year deal in July 2023, going on to score 43 goals in 50 matches as he helped his side lift the Primeira Liga title. This season to date, he’s netted 16 in 15 appearances.
6 ft 2, quick on the turn and with the ball and a powerful force of a striker, he has already proven to be a perfect fit for the Amorim system, and could provide the goals that United desperately lack and current options Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee are failing to deliver consistently.
United will face competition and a hefty fee – a €100m (£80m) release clause – if they are to be the ones to lure him away from Lisbon.
But the links to Amorim can surely only be a plus; and, if the Red Devils cut down on spending where possible over the rest of the season, Sky Germany claims there is an agreement where Gyökeres can leave next summer for somewhere in the region of £50-60m.
Benjamin Sesko
There is, of course, every chance that Amorim could be the one to help Hojlund tap into the goal-scoring gene that many at United still believe he possesses – and with big spending looking increasingly unlikely in January, the two (as well as Zirkzee) should have time to try and gel before any more competition is brought in.
But if the new head coach can’t get a tune out of his existing forwards, and Gyokeres opts to stay at Sporting or head elsewhere – including to the blue half of Manchester where Hugo Viana, who signed the Swede from Coventry, will become director of football next summer – then it might be time to get back on the phone with the agent of young Benjamin Sesko.
The towering Slovenian remained at RB Leipzig despite widespread interest in his services over the summer, and even extended his contract through to 2029 with a £55m release clause.
Still just 21 years old, Šeško was sought after by United as a teenage sensation in Salzburg two years ago, and has helped Leipzig to joint top of the Bundesliga table after the first eight matches of this season.
“Extremely fast”, two-footed, “more technical” than Erling Haaland, and an imposing figure at just under six and a half feet tall, Šeško was rumoured to have reignited United’s interest in the days prior to Ten Hag’s exit.
Whether that interest will remain under the new coaching regime therefore remains to be seen, but the Slovenia international certainly shares some key attributes with the likes of Gyokeres.
Again, though, multiple top teams – including Arsenal – are understood to still be vying for the big front man.
Click here to read more about Sesko and his career so far, from those who know the former basketball prodigy well.
Marcus Edwards
Back in Lisbon, another Sporting attacker rumoured to be on Amorim’s wishlist is Marcus Edwards.
The 25-year-old Spurs academy product – once dubbed “mini Messi” by then-boss Mauricio Pochettino – has impressed since moving to Primeira Liga in 2019, becoming far and away the top English scorer in the league’s history during spells at Vitória de Guimarães and then Sporting, who he joined for a fee of around €8m (£6m) in January 2022.
A left-footed right winger, Edwards is a skilful dribbler with an eye for both scoring and creating – 12 goals and 14 assists in 2022-23, six and nine last season from fewer matches – and could be an ideal replacement for Antony if the out-of-favour Brazilian is loaned away or even sold in an upcoming transfer window.
Edwards is clearly used to Amorim and his style of play and is versatile, capable of operating both out wide and as an attacking midfielder. To counteract United’s lack of depth in the position, and comparative overstaffing in midfield, there’s also a chance he – or indeed the likes of Amad, or even Antony if he stays – could be converted into a wing-back similar to the transformation of Geovany Quenda at Sporting this season.
His contract at Sporting runs until June 2026, with Spurs poised to profit from a sell-on clause contained within it if any suitors come calling.
Ousmane Diomande
While some United players who ploy their trade in the middle of the park may find themselves surplus to requirements under Amorim, that is unlikely to be the case for the current crop of defensive troops at Old Trafford – particularly the centre backs.
Provided the new boss sticks to the general system that his brought success and gained him so many admirers in recent years, United will switch to a back three for the first time since early in the Louis van Gaal era back in 2014.
Injuries and form are among the reasons we’ve seen so many United centre-back partnerships in recent months, but Amorim would – at the time of writing, and once all are fit – be able to choose three from Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans.
Many of those are injury prone, ageing, looking elsewhere or lack experience in a back three, though; so Amorim may plead with Ineos to help fund another option, such as Ousmane Diomande.
A commanding physical presence, the 20-year-old Ivory Coast international was an integral part of Sporting’s title-winning backline last season, though he is understood to come with another eye-watering release clause of around £70m.
But the in-demand young star could be a coup for the future if Amorim can convince United to splash the cash and the player to swap Lisbon for Manchester.
Again keeping it in-house, 23-year-old Gonçalo Inacio is another Sporting centre-back who Amorim could reportedly be keen on bringing to the Premier League.
Alvaro Fernandez Carreras
Given the oft injury-stricken pair of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are unlikely to present the most appealing options at left wing-back, Amorim may push for United to bring back a Carrington academy graduate who only left Manchester this summer: Alvaro Fernandez Carreras.
The 21-year-old made a successful loan spell in Benfica a permanent move at the end of last season, for a reported fee of about £5m.
But as well as a sell-on clause, his former club also have both matching rights and a buy-back clause, which is reportedly in the region of £16m and can be triggered up until the 2026 summer transfer window.
Before he was sacked, Ten Hag confirmed United were already interested in bringing the Spaniard back from Portugal – and he could provide a relatively simple fix to one of Amorim’s first potential line-up problems at Old Trafford.
Another option reportedly under consideration is Wolves’s Rayan Ait-Nouri. The 23-year-old performed well at Molineux last season and despite his side’s struggles so far in this campaign, has been a bright spark with three goals and two assists through their first nine matches.
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