Back in April, when Manchester United were first canvassing for potential replacements for Erik ten Hag, reservations were cast about those managers who favoured operating with a back three.

Julian Nagelsmann had just extended his contract with the German national team so was not an option for the club at the time.

But, amid concerns about swinging wildly from one system to another just to fit the coach, he was cited as an example of a manager who might be the right fit but at the wrong time for a club in the early stages of a mammoth rebuild, on and off the field.

Equally, there were doubts about whether the personnel in United’s squad easily lent itself to playing with a back three and wing backs.

Maybe it is one of the reasons why talks over Ruben Amorim did not get to an advanced stage when managers were interviewed around the time of the FA Cup final at the end of last season, before the decision to keep faith with Ten Hag.

Yet fast forward five months and, with Ten Hag finally jettisoned, the team malfunctioning and United already facing the prospect of another season without Champions League football, that stance has softened.

Beyond Xabi Alonso – who seems likely to end up at Manchester City or Real Madrid should either Pep Guardiola or Carlo Ancelotti depart – the Old Trafford hierarchy feel Amorim represents the best candidate out there and that there is no point settling for anything else.

Good managers maximise the talents of the players at their disposal and United will hope the 39-year-old Portuguese can bring some balance and cohesion to defence and attack in the way he has with dazzling results at Sporting Lisbon, should an agreement be reached for his services.

After guiding Sporting to their first league title for 19 years in 2021-22, Amorim followed that up with another triumph last season and is currently on course to repeat the trick with nine wins from nine in the Primeira Liga this term.

Sporting’s success under Amorim has been built primarily on a 3-4-2-1 system notable for its flexible approach in attack, a preference for lots of the ball and high-intensity pressing and strong defensive foundations with a compact shape out of possession. Amorim, like many United supporters, would probably shudder if he saw the wide-open spaces United left for opponents to exploit under Ten Hag.

He may encounter other early obstacles, too, should he become manager: the absence, for example, of a natural left wing-back, despite a £600 million spend in the past two-and-a-half years. Luke Shaw has not played for United since February due to injury, Tyrell Malacia not since May last year.

United are not the first Premier League club to pursue Amorim. Liverpool looked extensively at him after Alonso opted to stay with Bayer Leverkusen before ultimately favouring the appointment of Arne Slot in May.

The Portuguese also met with West Ham in London in April to hold talks about potentially succeeding David Moyes at the London Stadium. Amorim would later publicly apologise for the situation, saying it was a “mistake” and that the timing was “completely misjudged”.

More recently, Amorim has been touted as a potential successor to Guardiola at City now that Hugo Viana, the Sporting Lisbon sporting director with whom he has forged such an alliance in Portugal, will replace Txiki Begiristain as director of football at the Premier League champions.

It is certainly hard to believe now, with Amorim’s stock rising fast, that Sporting were seen to be taking a big gamble on him in 2020. He had only been in charge of Braga 13 matches, a run that yielded a domestic Cup final victory over Porto and a first away win to Benfica since 1955, when Sporting opted to triggered the €10 million release clause in his contract, coincidentally the same fee United will have to pay to land him now.

It would prove a wise investment. Amorim has shown a knack for getting the best out of his players’ skill sets and developing young talents, many of whom have gone on to be sold for hefty fees. They include Joao Palhinha, who was sold to Fulham and is now at Bayern Munich, Pedro Porro who joined Tottenham, Matheus Nunes who left for Wolves and now plays for Manchester City, Nuno Mendes, now of Paris St-Germain, and finally a certain Manuel Ugarte, who may be happier than most should Amorim pitch up at Old Trafford.

The Uruguay midfielder spent two seasons under Amorim at Sporting, amassing 85 appearances across all competitions, before joining PSG for £50 million and this summer switching to United.