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INEOS finally had enough after Manchester United’s disappointing 1-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham on Sunday and they decided to sack Erik ten Hag with the team languishing in 14th position in the Premier League table.
The decision should have come much earlier but a fear of the severance pay package and the lack of quality alternatives meant they opted for stability in the hopes that the Dutchman would steer the ship out of trouble.
That never came as reports of dressing room unrest emerged and finally, the results and the lack of a comprehensible style of play meant the new co-owners were left with no choice.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been placed in interim charge but his stint could be super short if reports are to be believed with plenty of outlets claiming Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim is open to taking over.
Release clause confusion
The Portuguese has verbally agreed a deal with the Red Devils looking to have him in the dugout in time for next weekend’s Premier League encounter against Chelsea.
However, contrasting reports have emerged regarding the amount of money it will take INEOS to buy him out of his current deal with the Portuguese club.
Initially, reports had suggested that Amorim had a release clause of around €10 million but Portuguese outlet RTP Sport have claimed that clubs will have to pay double to land the highly-rated coach.
❗️This is the current situation:
• Amorim doesn’t want to leave @SportingCP in the middle of the season but the dream of coaching in the @premierleague is pushing him.
• Sporting made a renewal’s contract offer that was not accepted yet.
• Release clause of 20M euros. pic.twitter.com/T27eNXaaWM
— Pedro Sepúlveda (@pedromsepulveda) October 28, 2024
Interestingly, Sporting have not given up hope of keeping their manager as per journalist Pedro Sepulveda who also backed up the claims of a higher release clause amount. The Sporting coach will become a free agent in 2026.
“Amorim doesn’t want to leave Sporting CP in the middle of the season but the dream of coaching in the Premier League is pushing him.
Double money required
“Sporting made a renewal contract offer that has not been accepted yet. Release clause of 20M euros,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Interestingly, A Bola have claimed that Sporting’s contract includes a tier system and certain Portuguese clubs have to pay triple in case they want Amorim.
Another huge outlay is on the cards for Sir Jim Ratcliffe after United paid the former Ajax coach £17.5 million in compensation, £7.5 million more than what they could have paid in the summer.
INEOS have promised to pay big to land the perfect replacement and €10 million or €20 million, if the club hierarchy feel Amorim is the right fit, they should pounce and fast.