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Lots of first-team changes are expected at Manchester United now that Ruben Amorim is expected to take over following Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.
Sunday’s defeat to West Ham meant INEOS were forced to pull the plug on the Dutchman’s tenure with the Red Devils languishing in 14th position in the Premier League table.
United are trying to agree a deal with Sporting Lisbon for their manager so that he can be in the hot seat for the Chelsea game but roadblocks remain including the compensation to be paid.
His arrival might be delayed but reliable outlets have claimed that is it but a matter of time before the Portuguese tactician is seen prowling the touchlines at Old Trafford.
Changes in personnel expected under Amorim
Once he does arrive, he will be keen to get the United train back on track with plenty of underperforming players expected to fight to save their faltering United careers.
Quite a few players could be on their way out including Antony, and Teamtalk have claimed that the former Portuguese international has already sent a list of stars INEOS should buy for him when the transfer window reopens in January.
The transfer list includes three Sporting stars — Goncalo Inacio, Marcus Edwards and winger Pedro Goncalves, with Goncalves expected to be the hardest to acquire.
“Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Amorim has already informed Man Utd’s board of three Sporting CP players that he would like to bring to Old Trafford.
We understand that Amorim is keen to sign talented centre-back Goncalo Inacio as he is not fully convinced by the Red Devils’ current defensive options.”
United’s troubles at the back are well known and the lack of left-footed profiles has been cited as a problem in the past and Inacio could fix all that.
Defence, attack need improvement
He has been linked with a move to the red half of Manchester earlier while Liverpool are also keen. He has a release clause of €60 million with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof both expected to depart.
The former Tottenham Hotspur winger has been identified as a replacement for Antony while Goncalves’ goal record speaks for himself.
The 26-year-old can play all across the front line and scored 18 times while assisting another 17 last season and considering United’s shortcomings in front of goal, he could be the perfect fix.
“The second Sporting star on Amorim’s shortlist is former Tottenham right-winger Marcus Edwards. Man Utd are keen to sell or loan out mega-money flop Antony in January and Edwards could be signed as a replacement for him.”
“Finally, we understand that Amorim would like to bring Sporting winger Pedro Goncalves with him to Old Trafford, but he will be the most difficult player to sign of the trio.
Sporting trio being eyed
“He is considered a vital player by Sporting’s hierarchy and they would demand a big fee for his services, and are very, very reluctant to sanction his departure mid-season.”
Goncalves and Inacio have been heavily used by Amorim during his Sporting reign and all three would be improvements over the current players the club have.
The Peoples Person has also relayed that Sporting’s goalscoring machine Viktor Gyokeres could follow his current boss to the Theatre of Dreams should the Red Devils push hard.
But following the huge outlay in the summer and the additional spends during this transition period, it will be interesting to see how much INEOS can back the new manager in January or whether these moves are revisited come next summer.