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Why Liverpool decided against Ruben Amorim as Manchester United confirm appointment

Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)


Ruben Amorim has become the new manager of Manchester United, as INEOS moved quickly to replace Erik Ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday. The Red Devils had endured a miserable 18 months under the Dutchman, and after landing Amorim, they are hiring a man in much demand recently.

Indeed, the Sporting boss has been linked with the Manchester City job, should Pep Guardiola leave the club next summer, Chelsea have been mooted and West Ham United also targeted him to replace David Moyes before they turned their attentions to Julen Lopetegui.

But Amorim was most heavily linked with the hotseat at Anfield, leading the way as the bookmakers' favourite once it became clear Xabi Alonso would not be leaving Bayer Leverkusen in the wake of Jurgen Klopp's shock departure from Liverpool.

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Why, then, did Amorim not end up at Anfield? It certainly wasn't down to a problem with his CV, with the 39-year-old Portuguese boasting two league titles and two domestic ups in his four years with Sporting, who have won all nine of their opening league games this term.

Instead it appears as though tactical differences in the vision that the returning Michael Edwards and newly appointed Richard Hughes had for Liverpool in the post-Klopp world were one of the main deciding factors. There would be no repeat of mistakes made by other clubs, with the Reds keen to ensure that Klopp's work was built on, not torn up by his successor. Evolution, not revolution was required.

Liverpool certainly did their homework, and within the exhaustive data-led process conducted by the club, there was one man that stood out beyond others as the Reds' ideal candidate to replace the German, Feyenoord's Arne Slot.

Analysis conducted by Edwards, Hughes and the club's director of research, Will Spearman, found Slot's aggressive playing style to closest resemble the Reds' under Klopp, meaning there wasn't too much upheaval for a playing staff operating under a new head coach for the first time in close to a decade.

Amorim instead favoured a set-up with three at the back and his style wasn't as suited to Liverpool as that of Slot's. Club sources dismissed suggestions that the Portuguese was offered a contract.

Later, when reports emerged that Amorim had help a "secret meeting" with Liverpool and West Ham, Anfield sources dismissed the claims out of hand. It wasn't the way Liverpool do business and in any case, Slot was the sole focus on the club's attentions.

Amorim would later apologise for the plane journey, with Chelsea also coming out to deny it was they who chartered the flight for the Sporting boss.

"The second situation, talking about the cloak of secrecy surrounding the trip. I 'secretly' parked the car outside, passed around 15 people, took photos with people and got on the plane. Therefore, remove a little bit of that thing that was done behind our backs, mainly from the club," he said.

"The most important point – my trip was a mistake. The timing was completely off, it didn’t seem right to me at the time. It was inappropriate, even more so when I am so demanding with my players, I am always the first to say that each one’s individual problems cannot be overcome by the team and, therefore, it was my fault.

"I have to accept it and live with it. Thinking coldly afterwards, it is very clear. It’s also not true that I didn’t explain to the players. I gave it to the players and the staff. Now it’s time to move forward, also using the public part to apologise to Sporting fans, the staff and especially, publicly, to my players."

Liverpool's decision to go with Slot has paid off after an impressive start to the season from the new head coach, who was won seven of his opening nine Premier League games, as well as leading the Reds to three consecutive Champions League victories in the new format.

Slot got the better of Ten Hag before he lost his job, winning 3-0 in comprehensive style at Old Trafford in just his third game in charge.

There have indeed been tweaks in style, with a more controlled approach leading to Liverpool conceding the fewest goals in the Premier League so far, with the playing staff largely the same.

And now Amorim has landed at Old Trafford, it'll be an intriguing to see how Slot's Liverpool shape up against Amorim's United. But there can be no doubts that Liverpool made the right choice when considering their options in May.