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'A mistake' - Ruben Amorim's apology after private talks with rivals amid Man United agreement
Ruben Amorim has agreed in principle to become the next Manchester United manager.
Erik ten Hag left his role as United manager on Monday after more than two years in charge at Old Trafford. The Dutchman departed on the back of a 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the weekend that leaves United in 14th place in the Premier League table.
The Manchester Evening News understands that Amorim has agreed in principle to become the new United manager, with talks underway with the Sporting Lisbon boss. It's thought that the 39-year-old has a €10million (£8.3million) release clause in his contract.
READ MORE: 'No excuses' - why Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag
This is not the first time that Amorim has been linked with a job at a Premier League club. Liverpool and Chelsea were previously tipped as potential destinations for Amorim, but most recently it was West Ham that emerged as an option.
The Hammers looked to appoint a successor to David Moyes in the summer, where they eventually decided to appoint Julen Lopetegui. It was in April, though, that Amorim was spotted in London after reportedly holding talks with West Ham over the manager's job.
At the time, Sporting were battling to win the league title in Portugal for the first time in 19 years. No agreement would go on to be made, and Amorim went on to apologise for the "mistake" he made after holding talks with another club.
"Obviously my trip was a mistake, the timing was completely wrong, it didn't seem right at the time," Amorim told reporters in April.
"It was wrong, especially when I'm so demanding with my players and always the first to say that each one's actions can overpower the team. I have already removed players from the squad for much less.
"It was my mistake, I have to accept it and live with it. It didn't seem so bad at the time, but thinking about it later it's very clear. I gave explanations to the players and the staff. Now it's time to move on.
"Obviously, I also use the public part here to apologise to the Sporting fans, the staff and, mainly publicly to my players for the mistake I made.
"It was a mistake because the fact that we are close to winning the championship, nothing has been done yet, and the team leader causes this noise, is a mistake. Whether or not he is authorised. And I'm the biggest defender of that. That's why I said it is an error."
