"Sporting play Manchester City next week and Arsenal in the next" - Scholes explains why Manchester United should delay Ruben Amorim's decision
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has urged the club to hold off on appointing Ruben Amorim as their new manager until he plays Arsenal and Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. The Portuguese tactician is heavily favored to replace Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout after the Dutchman was dismissed following a poor start to the campaign.
Scholes spent his whole career with the English giants, making 713 appearances in all competitions while scoring 153 goals and providing 82 assists to help the team to two UEFA Champions League titles, 11 Premier League crowns, four FA Cups, and two League Cups.
Speaking about the club's potential new boss on Sky Bet's The Overlap Fan Debate, the 66-time England international said:
"I know he’s meant to sign in the coming days and hours, but Sporting play Manchester City next week, and Arsenal in the next three or four weeks – it might be a chance to give him a public interview and see how he handles the media, see how his team plays."
He concluded:
"In England, we don’t watch a lot of Portuguese football, so we don’t know too much. We see them a bit in European football, and all the things we hear about him are good – exciting football, three at the back and possession-based – something United don’t really do. If he comes in to do that, it could be exciting."
Manchester United are yet to offer any updates on their search for a long-term successor to the dismissed Erik ten Hag. However, Sporting CP has confirmed that the 20-time English champions have contacted them for Ruben Amorim's services.
Former United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy has been put in charge on an interim basis for the side's upcoming fixtures.
"We have to wait" - Manchester United managerial target Ruben Amorim coy on future
Manchester United's managerial target Ruben Amorim has been coy about his plans despite speculation about his future.
Amorim is one of the most highly-rated young managers in the world at the moment and has been phenomenal during his time in charge of Sporting CP. He has averaged 2.28 points per game since he arrived at the Lisbon-based outfit in 2020 and has led his side to the league title twice in that time.
When asked about his future, the 39-year-old told Sky Sports:
"Nothing is decided yet. I don't know if it's the farewell game or not. We have to wait a little bit more to explain everything I need to explain and then everything will be very clear. It's my decision. I will tell everything so we have to wait. That's it."
Manchester United have been in a poor run of form this season. They are currently 14th in the Premier League table with 11 points.