Goalkeeping coaches rarely make the headlines, but Manchester United's Jorge Vital has done just that. United's head coach Ruben Amorim suggested he would prefer to have 63 year old Vital in his squad over Marcus Rashford, once again casting doubt on the striker's dedication.

So who is this man at the heart of the latest United controversy?

Born on July 13, 1961, in Tomar, Portugal, Vital began his career at his local club and enjoyed a 20-year playing career, including four years at Sporting, one of Portugal's big three clubs alongside Benfica and Porto. He retired in 2001 and spent most of his coaching career at Braga, starting in 2001 and leaving in August 2020, with a seven-month stint at Sporting during the 2011-12 season being the only break in that long spell.

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His final departure from Braga was alongside Amorim, who brought Vital with him as part of his backroom team to Sporting. Amorim's success at Sporting caught United's attention, and he was appointed Erik ten Hag's successor, with Vital also moving to Manchester last November.

Vital took over from Jelle ten Rouwelaar as United's goalkeeper coach, with the Dutchman joining compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester. While Vital's coaching career has been relatively low-profile, Amorim's remarks have thrust him into the spotlight.

"If you do the maximum and the right things then we can use every player," said the United head coach after Sunday’s win at Fulham.

"Today on the bench we missed a bit of pace to change the game but I prefer it like this, I will put (in) Vital before I put (in) a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day, so I will not change in that department."